TOLLS * USA - Maryland braces for toll increases

Highway users are bracing for what could amount to substantial toll increases in Maryland

Annapolis,MAR,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -May 16, 2011: ... The numbers aren’t final yet, but no matter what the increases turn out to be, truckers operating on already thin profit margins are not in favor of another squeeze... The Maryland Transportation Authority’s board of directors is scheduled to meet June 2 in Baltimore to develop a formal proposal to increase tolls. Recent committee meetings show the direction they could be headed... Early projections are that the current $15 toll on the Bay Bridge, also called the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge on U.S. 50/301, could double to $30 for a five-axle truck... (Image from interstate-guide: Eastbound U.S. 50 at Exit 5, the eastern terminus of Maryland 410, the East-West Highway)

TOLLS * USA - Public-private toll project nears bidding

Atlanta,GA,USA -The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, by Ariel Hart -May 9, 2011: -- For the 90,000 drivers in I-75’s morning rush toward Atlanta each day, the hope of finding a lane that won’t be clogged may be just a few years away... After years of false starts, the state Department of Transportation says it will soon open bidding on the largest transportation contract in state history — a $1 billion project to add 29 miles of reversible lanes alongside I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee counties... It is the state’s maiden attempt to build public roads with private investment... But it will come at a cost... Drivers using these lanes will pay in tolls, and all Georgia drivers will pay in tax dollars. Some of the costs may remain secret, at least from the public, until after the final contract is signed... (Photo by Vino Wong/AJC:  Georgia is preparing to open bidding for the largest transportation contract in state history, optional toll lanes along I-75 and I-575 in Cobb and Cherokee counties.)

Tolls Add * China - Heavy Burden to Trucking Goods and Drivers

What is the most lucrative industry in China?  ...

Beijing,China -China Daily, by Jiang -12 May 2011:  ,,,   The answer lies in selling neither securities nor real estate but in building highways...     Payments of highway and bridge tolls make up as much as a third of the total transport costs incurred by trucking and other types of hauling companies at a time when toll collectors are raking in large profits, according to a report by China Central Television (CCTV)...   The report recounted the experience of a truck driver, Wu Zhongyao, who said he spent 8,978 yuan ($1,382) on tolls in April while making a 2,800-km trip from South China's Guangdong province to Northeast China's Liaoning province. That money made up a third of his total freight expenses, which came to about 27,500 yuan. Wu said he made a thin profit - about 7,000 yuan - on the trip, which lasted for three days and two nights. And he'll be lucky if he gets to keep most of that...   After he makes payments on truck insurance and bank debt and pays overload fines, his earnings often fall to 2,000 to 3,000 yuan a month...    At the end of 2010, a farmer, Shi Jianfeng, in Central China's Henan province received a life sentence for not paying 3.68 million in highway tolls over the course of eight months. The case prompted an outcry online; many people came to Shi's defense, saying the toll cost was exorbitant and far exceeded Shi's annual income...  Transport authorities in China have taken steps to reduce toll fees. Feng Zhenglin, vice-minister of transport, said during a telephone conference at the end of April that the ministry will study the debts, revenues, and charging practices of toll collectors and will reform or shut down collectors that fail to obey the rules they are subject to...  According to statistics from the Ministry of Transport, tolls have ceased since the end of 2010 to be charged along more than 90,000 kilometers of second-class highways financed by government loans. During the same period, 1,723 tollgates were closed in China...    (Photo from mitsubishi-logistics: Mitsubishi Logistics, cargo transportation in Shanghai)