The Battle to Kill the Kill Switch

Posted on January 17, 2025 by TTH admin

Last night, Rep. Thomas Massie gave a valiant effort to add our kill switch amendment to the THUD appropriations bill in the U.S. House. We came very close (just 28 votes shy). His floor speech was spot on. It’s hard to believe this isn’t some kind of sci fi movie, but sadly, it’s become reality under the Biden Administration that few even read or vetted before it passed.

We hope through the questions posed to Buttigieg through our letter authored by Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA, Chair of Freedom Caucus), we’ll get more details that will help us pull the plug on this dangerous technology being put into every American’s vehicle. This is where the Governor and our Texas legislature should step in to protect our travel liberties from the overreach of the long arm of big government. We’ll continue to step-up our efforts to educate more Texans and members to the threats this technology poses to our constitutional rights.

Apparently one group, MADD, stopped our amendment from passing even though it’s something literally hundreds of groups in Texas alone support, much less Heritage Action, National Motorists Association and Citizens for Renewing America. This isn’t about drunk driving, but mandating this technology be put into every vehicle is an unconstitutional surveillance of Americans that violates our 4th amendment rights. Time is short given the mandate after 2026. This certainly isn’t over.

As far as Texas goes, we had all but one Republican vote with us. Michael McCaul was the LONE Republican from Texas that didn’t vote with us (call his Austin office at (512) 473-2357 to express your displeasure). Even Tony Gonzales and Kay Granger voted for it. The Democrats all marched in lockstep (except Sheila Jackson Lee wasn’t there to vote, obviously with election day yesterday she was in Houston). So our coalition letter and visits to nearly one hundred offices in D.C. had a tremendous impact.

What confounds us, is why we don’t have that same support here from the Texas legislature and the Governor? What can we do to protect Texas from Biden and the radical Left’s overreach that will shut off our ability to drive?

If you haven’t seen what this looks like, this video from Wired Magazine shows just how frightening this will be from inside your car.

Background:

This is about protecting privacy, our constitutional right to NOT be illegally tracked by the government, and to prevent the weaponization of this technology against ALL Americans simply for owning a car.

Massie Amendment #60 stated: “None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement section 24220 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.” Section 24220 of the IIJA requires all newly manufactured vehicles to be equipped with technology to monitor driver performance and prevent vehicle operation. We need congress to act quickly since this is required on all vehicles manufactured after 2026.

Under the guise of preventing impaired driving, this technology would limit or stop a motor vehicle’s operation for anything it may detect as ‘impaired’ (which is not even defined in statute). We have grave concerns with this technology with regards to the right to privacy, unconstitutional tracking, and other civil rights violations. When 31 states allow for court-mandated ignition interlock devices (IID) to prevent drivers from starting their car without first passing a self-administered breathalyzer test, there’s no need for another federal mandate.

Rather than having the driver perform a breathalyzer test, section 24220 calls for technology which can “passively monitor the performance of a driver.” This so-called “passive” technology functions automatically, likely through AI technology or internal cameras, to monitor drivers while they operate their own motor vehicle. With advanced impaired driving technology comes the ability to track a vehicle’s location. Therefore, this would likely result in warrantless tracking by the government. A vehicle kill switch mandate is also rife with potential for abuse, both by government and corporate actors.

More media coverage…

In The Federalist here.
Glenn Beck‘s Podcast here.
On Laura Ingraham‘s Show here.
On MSN here.

Paxton sues more companies for illegally harvesting, selling driver data

Posted on January 17, 2025 by TTH admin

Also see this Politico article that shows near universal opposition to the plan by Trump, unions, and bipartisan members of congress here.

Trump Tower is in the congestion zone. Trump vows to fight it here.

Link to article here.

Nation’s first congestion toll now active in Manhattan

ABC Eyewitness News
January 6, 2025

Watch the story here.

MANHATTAN, New York City (WABC) — For many New Yorkers, Monday was the first day back to work following the holiday break, and for a swath of commuters, it was also the first time they paid the new congestion pricing toll to enter Manhattan below 60th Street.

On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed to closely study congestion pricing data, and make changes to the program, if needed.

“I am committed and the MTA is committed to intensely monitoring the trends, and if adjustments are necessary, to be willing to make those going forward,” she said.

“Traffic is down today,” but Hochul noted it is also snowing. “Today is the first day. I wouldn’t count today, let’s give it a few days to sink in and get a trend.”

WATCH | NJ drivers discuss impact of congestion pricing on commute

Anthony Johnson has more on the impact of congestion pricing on New Jersey drivers entering Manhattan.

New York City’s new congestion pricing toll began on Sunday, meaning many people will pay $9 to access the busiest part of the Big Apple during peak hours.

The toll is meant to reduce traffic gridlock in the densely packed city while raising money to help fix its ailing public transit infrastructure.

New Jersey’s request for a temporary restraining order was denied by a federal judge on Friday. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s office plans to appeal the ruling.

Congestion pricing was designed to raise money for the MTA’s capital plan, while reducing traffic in Midtown, by tolling drivers in Manhattan south of 60th Street.

N.J. Burkett has the latest with MTA CEO Janno Lieber.

Here’s the breakdown of how congestion pricing works:

Time of day
The peak period toll rate will apply from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. The overnight toll rates will be 75% less than the respective rates in the standard peak period for all drivers entering the Congestion Relief Zone.

Type of vehicle

Passenger and small commercial vehicles, and motorcycles (see passenger reaction here)

The toll for passenger and small commercial vehicles (sedans, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and small vans) paying with a valid E-ZPass will be $9 during the peak period and $2.25 during the overnight period, when there is less congestion. The toll for motorcycles will be $4.50 during the peak period and $1.05 during the overnight period. These vehicles will be charged only once per day.

Michelle Charlesworth has more on reaction from drivers on the first weekday of congestion pricing tolling.

Trucks and buses

Small trucks (single-unit trucks) and some buses will pay a toll of $14.40 during the peak period and $3.60 during the overnight period. Large trucks (multi-unit trucks) and tour buses will pay a toll of $21.60 during the peak period and $5.40 during the overnight period.

Eligible trucks and buses are exempt from the Congestion Relief Zone toll.

Taxis and for-hire vehicles

Instead of paying the daily toll, taxis and for-hire vehicles licensed with the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission will be eligible for a smaller per-trip charge paid by the passenger for each trip to, from, within, or through the Congestion Relief Zone.

For both the peak and overnight periods, the per-trip charge for high-volume for-hire vehicles will be $1.50. For taxis, green cabs, and black cars, the per-trip charge will be $0.75.

Crossing credits

A credit will reduce Congestion Relief Zone tolls for vehicles using a valid E-ZPass and entering during the peak period via one of the four tolled entries: Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, Queens-Midtown Tunnel, and Hugh L. Carey Tunnel. The credit amount will be up to $3 for passenger vehicles, up to $1.50 for motorcycles, up to $7.20 for small trucks and charter buses, and up to $12 for large trucks and tour buses. No crossing credits will be offered overnight when the toll will be reduced by 75% from the peak period toll.

Discounts and exemptions

Discount and exemption plans are available for the Congestion Relief Zone. A discount plan is available for low-income drivers, and exemption plans are available for individuals with disabilities or organizations transporting people with disabilities, emergency vehicles, buses, and specialized government-owned vehicles.

E-ZPass and Tolls by Mail

Customers will be able to use their E-ZPass tags to pay the Congestion Relief Zone toll as they do today to pay tolls on other roads, bridges, and tunnels. Those without an E-ZPass tag will receive a Tolls by Mail bill to the registered owner of the vehicle. Tolls by Mail bills are more expensive and less convenient to pay.

More details about the plan, exemptions, and discounts are available on the MTA website.

What else to know about congestion pricing

The MTA is phasing in the toll structure over a six-year period with an initial $9 peak toll for cars. The toll will increase to $12 in 2028 and then $15 in 2031.

Hochul could not set the base toll lower than $9 without triggering a new federal environmental review that could allow the incoming Trump administration to block it.

President-elect Donald Trump has openly and vehemently opposed congestion pricing, saying last May he would terminate the governor’s plan in his first week of office. However, it would become much more complicated for Trump to do that if the governor starts her plan before he is inaugurated in January.

In November, Trump, whose namesake Trump Tower is in the toll zone, said congestion pricing “will put New York City at a disadvantage over competing cities and states, and businesses will flee.”

The new toll is expected to reduce the number of cars in the city by 80,000 and collect billions of dollars for much-needed transit improvements.

WATCH: Rep. Nicole Malliotakis talks challenges of congestion pricing

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY 11th District) shares thoughts on congestion pricing.

Some were concerned that congestion pricing could impact response times for agencies like the FDNY, but on Monday, but Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said it was “business as usual” in the FDNY and “there is no issue with response times because of congestion pricing.”

He said he is “concerned about what impact this will have and I’m not negating the fact that there may be an impact.”

Officials are hoping to convince more commuters to take public transit, but it comes at a time when some high-profile crime has been reported underground.

See more commuter reaction here.

Kemberly Richardson is live in Penn Station with more on commuter reaction to congestion pricing.

Over the past two weeks, a man lit a woman on fire. In another case, a rider was pushed onto the subway tracks.

Eyewitness News found murders have doubled from 5 in 2023 to 10 last year leading to a 100 percent increase. Most other crimes have gone down during the same time period. Grand larceny, robbery, and burglary are down by double digits.

Hochul says new transit cameras on every train and National Guard patrols have helped. Meanwhile, the governor announced on Friday new legislation that would make it easier for hospitals to commit patients with severe mental illness and for courts to order outpatient treatment.

On Monday, the NYPD announced 200 more officers are moving into the subway system to conduct train patrols

Congestion pricing has survived several lawsuits seeking to block the program, including a last-ditch effort from the state of New Jersey to have a judge put up a temporary roadblock against it. A spokesperson for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Natalie Hamilton, said in an email Saturday, that they would” continue fighting against this unfair and unpopular scheme.”

—
Some information from the Associated Press

NYC imposes congestion tolls on cars to pay for transit upgrades

Posted on January 17, 2025 by TTH admin

Also see this Politico article that shows near universal opposition to the plan by Trump, unions, and bipartisan members of congress here.

Trump Tower is in the congestion zone. Trump vows to fight it here.

Link to article here.

Nation’s first congestion toll now active in Manhattan

ABC Eyewitness News
January 6, 2025

Watch the story here.

On Monday, Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed to closely study congestion pricing data, and make changes to the program, if needed.

“I am committed and the MTA is committed to intensely monitoring the trends, and if adjustments are necessary, to be willing to make those going forward,” she said.

“Traffic is down today,” but Hochul noted it is also snowing. “Today is the first day. I wouldn’t count today, let’s give it a few days to sink in and get a trend.”

WATCH | NJ drivers discuss impact of congestion pricing on commute

Anthony Johnson has more on the impact of congestion pricing on New Jersey drivers entering Manhattan.

New York City’s new congestion pricing toll began on Sunday, meaning many people will pay $9 to access the busiest part of the Big Apple during peak hours.

The toll is meant to reduce traffic gridlock in the densely packed city while raising money to help fix its ailing public transit infrastructure.

New Jersey’s request for a temporary restraining order was denied by a federal judge on Friday. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s office plans to appeal the ruling.

Congestion pricing was designed to raise money for the MTA’s capital plan, while reducing traffic in Midtown, by tolling drivers in Manhattan south of 60th Street.

N.J. Burkett has the latest with MTA CEO Janno Lieber.

Here’s the breakdown of how congestion pricing works:

Type of vehicle

Passenger and small commercial vehicles, and motorcycles (see passenger reaction here)

Michelle Charlesworth has more on reaction from drivers on the first weekday of congestion pricing tolling.

Trucks and buses

Eligible trucks and buses are exempt from the Congestion Relief Zone toll.

Taxis and for-hire vehicles

For both the peak and overnight periods, the per-trip charge for high-volume for-hire vehicles will be $1.50. For taxis, green cabs, and black cars, the per-trip charge will be $0.75.

Crossing credits

Discounts and exemptions

E-ZPass and Tolls by Mail

More details about the plan, exemptions, and discounts are available on the MTA website.

What else to know about congestion pricing

The MTA is phasing in the toll structure over a six-year period with an initial $9 peak toll for cars. The toll will increase to $12 in 2028 and then $15 in 2031.

Hochul could not set the base toll lower than $9 without triggering a new federal environmental review that could allow the incoming Trump administration to block it.

In November, Trump, whose namesake Trump Tower is in the toll zone, said congestion pricing “will put New York City at a disadvantage over competing cities and states, and businesses will flee.”

The new toll is expected to reduce the number of cars in the city by 80,000 and collect billions of dollars for much-needed transit improvements.

WATCH: Rep. Nicole Malliotakis talks challenges of congestion pricing

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY 11th District) shares thoughts on congestion pricing.

He said he is “concerned about what impact this will have and I’m not negating the fact that there may be an impact.”

Officials are hoping to convince more commuters to take public transit, but it comes at a time when some high-profile crime has been reported underground.

See more commuter reaction here.

Kemberly Richardson is live in Penn Station with more on commuter reaction to congestion pricing.

Over the past two weeks, a man lit a woman on fire. In another case, a rider was pushed onto the subway tracks.

On Monday, the NYPD announced 200 more officers are moving into the subway system to conduct train patrols

—
Some information from the Associated Press

NYC congestion tolling unleashes congestion nightmare

Posted on January 17, 2025 by TTH admin

Link to article here.

Congestion toll chaos will push commuters to ditch their cars in northern Manhattan, outer boroughs: ‘New park-and-ride’

By Georgia Worrell, Rich Calder
NY Post
January 5, 2025

The invasion of the Bridge and Tunnel crowd won’t just be on weekends anymore.

Commuters to the Big Apple will be turning neighborhoods across the city into their own personal parking lots beginning this week, ditching their rides to save their wallets because of the $9 congestion pricing plan, concerned residents told The Post.

The plan is expected to upend neighborhoods closest to the 60th Street tolling zone with nightmarish gridlock as a surge of drivers begin scouring for free parking spots.

Neighborhoods closest to the 60th Street tolling zone are expected to be upended with nightmarish gridlock. NY Post

“Parking is already very much an issue. We have nine hospitals in our district, and many of them are north of 60th Street,” said Upper East Sider Valerie Mason, a member of New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing Tax, a group suing to stop the scheme.

Hospital workers and visitors already eat up the majority of the nabe’s street parking, she added.

“We’re also very concerned that [the toll] will cause a huge amount of traffic and more cars trying to park north of the [59th Street Bridge],” Mason said.

The Upper West Side and Harlem are also expected to get slammed — a problem when parking spaces are already a precious commodity.

Cars exit the Lincoln Tunnel underneath the new congestion toll scanners on Jan. 5, 2025. William Miller

“We’re also very concerned that [the toll] will cause a huge amount of traffic and more cars trying to park north of the [59th Street Bridge],” said Upper East Sider Valerie Mason. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

East Harlem is already plagued by congestion from out-of-town traffic taking up parking spots before heading south in the borough — because it’s faster than using the FDR Drive, said Xavier Santiago, chairman of Manhattan Community Board 11. He predicted the parking crisis “will continue to escalate” with congestion pricing.

The outer boroughs are also panicking.

Follow along with The Post’s coverage of Manhattan’s new congestion pricing

New York became the most expensive city to drive in when its congestion pricing began Sunday. New Yorkers now must pay $9 to drive below 60th Street during peak hours.
Some drivers have begun concealing their plates in an effort to avoid the toll. Some residents of the area are saddled with the cost whenever they want to take their car out.

Neighborhoods closest to the 60th Street tolling zone are expected to be upended with nightmarish gridlock. NY Post

Businesses, like funeral homes, have begun shifting the cost to customers. Rideshare app Lyft raised its CitiBike prices for New Yorkers hoping to avoid taking a car. The FDNY union and EMT union claim that congestion pricing will slow down their response times, as well.
Many New Yorkers are skeptical about congestion pricing’s effects, especially after multiple publicized crimes on the subway in recent weeks. Drivers are expected to dump their cars above the zone, making parking more difficult uptown.

Communities such as Long Island City in Queens, the South Bronx, and ritzy Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Park Slope in Brooklyn are fearing their quality of life will be uprooted — not only by their own drivers but also those schlepping to the Big Apple from New Jersey, upstate New York, Long Island and Staten Island.

“My constituents who still have no real public transit connection to Manhattan are looking forward to treating the posh, transit-rich, gentrified, brownstone Brooklyn as their new park-and-ride,” quipped NYC Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island). Brigitte Stelzer

New congestion toll signage hangs outside the Lincoln Tunnel at West 41st Street near 9th Avenue on Jan. 5, 2025. William Miller

Borelli and other critics of the plan claim it will bring more air and noise pollution to the outer boroughs — including parts of the Bronx and Staten Island — as drivers look to avoid the toll.

Genevieve Giuliano, a professor specializing in urban transportation at USC’s Price School of Public Policy, expects motorists to spend the next few months “experimenting” with new routes to decide whether they’re better off paying the tolls, relying on mass transit or chasing free parking.

“Can you imagine doing” a drive-to-subway commute “every day?” said Giuliano. “Because some days the parking spots might be there; other days they might not.”

“They’re creating less congestion in Manhattan [with the tolls] and more congestion everywhere else,” said Jim Walden, a white-collar running for mayor. AP

Ultimately, many commuters want to spend as little time as possible on NYC’s crime-ridden subway system — warned Jim Walden, a lawyer running for mayor — so expect them to relentlessly drive around the outer boroughs looking for prized parking spots.

“My friends on the far left really don’t care about the outer boroughs,” said Walden, a moderate independent. “They’re creating less congestion in Manhattan [with the tolls] and more congestion everywhere else.”

Kathryn Freed, a retired state Supreme Court justice and former Lower East Side councilwoman, is expecting the worst.

“People are going to do whatever they can to avoid [the toll],” Freed said.

“People are going to do whatever they can to avoid [the toll],” warned Kathryn Freed, a retired state Supreme Court judge and former Lower East Side councilwoman. Robert Miller

And that means a toll camera on 1st Avenue between East 60 and 61st streets could bring traffic chaos. Motorists getting off the Queensboro Bridge planning to head north will be hit with a charge if they take the lower level to 1st Avenue.

But the upper exit to East 62nd Street will bypass the charge — creating a potential choke point as drivers try to avoid the toll.

The Empire State Building lights up behind a newly installed “Congestion Relief Zone” sign on Jan. 3, 2025. Christopher Sadowski

Meanwhile, online entrepreneurs have long been hawking license-plate covers for motorists trying to dodge toll machines and traffic cameras, but the state-run MTA has warned it plans to crack down harder on rogue riders once congestion pricing is in effect.

There is at least one cheat code available.

Video shared on social media in April exposed a potential hack to beat a toll camera on West End Avenue by driving the wrong way through a one-way, one-lane parking garage on the toll-zone border — with an entrance on 60th Street and an exit on 61st Street.

Online entrepreneurs have long been hawking license-plate covers for motorists trying to dodge all toll machines and other traffic cameras. John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock

A manager at the Sessanta Garage, who identified himself as Sergio, told The Post the business “is aware of the issue” and plans to eventually install barricades to avoid “head-on collisions” involving toll evaders.

“We’ve just been waiting to see if this congestion pricing really goes into effect or not,” he said last week.

The MTA declined to comment.

Broken promise: Leaders promised to remove tolls in Harris County once roads paid for

Posted on August 30, 2024 by TTH admin

The most important point to note is that the campaign literature for the initial toll roads in Houston did promise they’d eventually be free to everyone once the debt was paid off. That never happened. Unless the legislature passes our toll cessation bill, it never will. Call your state lawmakers NOW to insist toll comes down at (512) 463-4630.

No end in sight for HCTRA tolls, because there never was an end

By Dug Begley, Houston Chronicle, Updated: Aug 17, 2024

Almost since Harris County started collecting tolls, there has been a belief that someone somewhere promised the tolls would go away once the roads were paid for.

Well, the roads have long been paid for, at least those first roads, but the tolls are likely never going away. That’s in part because no one ever promised — really promised — they ever would.

For years there has been talk of what was said at the meetings or on flyers that have rarely, if ever, been shown. While some hold onto the legend as fact, county and toll officials have long called them misunderstandings, if not outright fabrications. There is no record that anyone with the campaign or the county said they were going to retire those bonds and end tolling when voters went to the polls.

That does not mean someone did not say it. Maybe they did. Maybe they were or were not with the campaign or the county. There is no record of everything everyone said at a community meeting and no record of any unofficial mailers that said it. The claim just is not in any ads printed at the time of the election. It is not in the coverage of either of Houston’s two competing daily newspapers prior to the election. It is not in the campaign materials.

What a review of the campaign materials and the coverage of it in 1983 will largely get you is a trip down memory lane of when the United States was debating Israel’s right to conduct retaliatory strikes and plans for the Houston-Dallas bullet train.

Campaign materials, however, do allude to an end of tolls. In 1983 flyers, supporters of the campaign noted that Dallas ended tolls on one of its roads once the bonds were paid and that state law at the time required the lifting of tolls if no bonds were outstanding.

“Toll roads will be free to everyone after they’re paid for,” one flyer said.

What voters approved is to borrow money and collect tolls “so long as any of the bonds are outstanding” for the creation and operation of the county’s roads. Specifically, that was for building the Hardy Toll Road, which state officials were considering, as well as building what became the Sam Houston Tollway so the state could build Beltway 8, the free lanes that act as its frontage road.

Many took that to mean that once the first bonds were paid off, tolls would be lifted.

Former County Judge Jon Lindsay, who championed the creation of the Harris County Toll Road Authority, said officials at the time never would have pledged to end the tolls after 20 or 30 years.

At the time of the vote, the broader debate was whether tolls would ever cover the costs of building and operating the roads. Part of the ballot proposition, designed by Lindsay and others, was to structure the bonds so they were backed by county tax revenues. If tolling fell short, it was county taxpayers left holding the bag.

While Lindsay was confident the tolls would cover it, critics of the plan said it could hamstring the county budget for decades.

Instead, the toll roads became the county’s biggest piggy bank, even as the toll road authority borrowed more. In the ensuing 40 years since creating HCTRA, officials have always been paying off something by borrowing more money to build more lanes or add interchanges and paying it all off with more tolls. It is a perpetual project, along with general operations, which dwarfs the initial borrowing. As of last Sept. 30, the agency had $2.79 billion in outstanding debt. Meanwhile, toll road users in fiscal 2023 paid $896.3 million to drive the lanes — meaning that at this point HCTRA raises enough money by tolls in a year to pay off the original 40-year debt.

Toll rates, meanwhile, have not changed in years and actually decreased for those with an HCTRA-issued tag.

Not only does that money pay for operations of the toll roads, it lands in the county’s general road coffers for other projects and helps with the county’s multimillion-dollar plan for better bike and pedestrian access.

Just as in 1983, Lindsay said most drivers do not fully understand the financing end of the toll roads, even if they think it is as simple as borrowing money to pay for construction. Elements of it often elude him, he said, though he was the face of the plan.

“There were people smarter than me behind it, lawyers and the finance,” said Lindsay, 88 and now long retired after terms in county and state government. “I’m just an engineer.”

“I wasn’t going to be around when that happened,” said Lindsay, who served as the county’s head from 1974 to 1994. “How could I tie the hands of someone else?”

Like Houston traffic, the belief that someone promised to lift the tolls never goes away, even as millions of trips take place on the Hardy, Westpark and Sam Houston each month.

“We do get the question,” said HCTRA Executive Director Roberto Treviño.

Toll officials just do not spend a lot of time answering it, as they cannot prove something did not happen or was not said. That the thinking persists among some, Treviño said, “doesn’t come into the decision-making process.”

Instead, Treviño and others said, they talk about the present.

“What we have to be focused on is mobility in the region,” said Tracy Jackson, the agency’s deputy communications director.

Mobility, meanwhile, means HCTRA has hundreds of millions of dollars in new projects in the pipeline, from a planned extension of the Hardy Toll Road to downtown Houston to removal of the original toll plazas along the Sam Houston Tollway.

Since those first users shelled out nickels and dimes from their driver-side window, tolling has become all electronic in the Houston area. Toll booths are now a relic, even if paying to use the road is not.

Getting rid of them, however, will be costly and complicated. Treviño said the plan is intertwined with other projects to make the intersections around the toll roads safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

“All inclusive, it is going to be more than $1 billion over the next several years,” he said.

Of that, Jackson said in an email that $525 million would be used to retrofit toll lanes, removes plazas and install the new gantries holding the electronic payment systems. Design of the new tolling points is expected to finish in a few months, officials said.

The change is not as simple as tearing out the booths, Treviño said. Traffic no longer needs to fan out to six or seven toll booths, but can instead remain in three or four lanes as equipment above the road tracks tolls. Those bloated areas around toll plazas are now less safe as drivers race through.

At large toll plazas such as the one along the Sam Houston Tollway south of Buffalo Bayou near Westchase, the work will mean a lot of leftover space, which Treviño said officials are also thinking about how they can reuse.

“Right now we don’t have one set plan for each of these areas,” he said, noting the need for park space in some neighborhoods near the toll roads, or wider intersections with more space for bike lanes or crosswalks. In some spaces, perhaps trees or other features could as a buffer from the noise and lights along the tollway.

Harris County Toll Road Authority will spend $525 million over the next few years redesigning and rebuilding tolling points along its roads. The aim is removing the outdated toll plazas and additional lanes and install the electronic equipment above the lanes.

What’s unlikely is a commercial option. Tollways in the northeastern U.S. and Oklahoma often have gas stations or restaurants built in some key areas, such as on overpass exits or quick off-ramps from the highway. Treviño said HCTRA is not considering commercial leases for the extra space.

Where warranted, however, entrances or exits could be added to relieve demand at key crossings, he said.

“The goal is making them an amenity for the county, not just the toll road users,” Treviño said, adding that anything that makes the toll roads operate better means better traffic in the surrounding area.

“There are going to be challenges,” he said. “I think we have no alternative with the traffic you are seeing out there.”

Watch Fox-TV Houston panelists sound off on SH 288 double taxation

Posted on August 30, 2024 by TTH admin

Watch the report and analysis by an all-star panel including Holly Hansen with The Texan and Charles Blaine with Texas Scorecard on the SH 288 private toll road buyout by TxDOT on Fox-TV 26 Houston here.

Incoming House members ask Abbott’s Commission to declare end date on SH 288 tolls

Posted on August 30, 2024 by TTH admin

Chairman J. Bruce Bugg, Jr.
Texas Department of Transportation
125 East 11TH Street
Austin, Texas 78701-2483

August 20, 2024

Commissioner Bugg:

As Republican nominees for the Texas House, we are extremely concerned by the action the Texas Transportation Commission took recently to spend over $1.7 billion ($1,700,000,000) of public money to seize control of a toll road (State Highway 288) with absolutely no commitment to end the tolls.

The Republican Party of Texas’s 2024 Platform states, “We call on the Texas Legislature to abolish existing toll roads.”

We recognize that in many instances the state cannot abolish existing toll roads without the use of public money, but your decision to do so without a clear commitment to end the tolls is the worst of all worlds for taxpayers and amounts to nothing less than double taxation.

Furthermore, it is our understanding that the state may secure purchase of this existing, fully operational road by issuing nearly $2 billion in new debt, which will assuredly be repaid by the tolls you are refusing to remove. The key diUerence is that at the end of the current agreement with the private operator, the tolls come oU. With this new arrangement, no such end date exists. Again, the worst of all worlds.

Regardless, the Department’s stated position to maintain the tolls on this road even after this large expenditure of public resources sets an alarming precedent. Upon oUicially taking the oUice of State Representative, we are committed to passing legislation that protects the interests of taxpayers from similar abuses. The actions by TxDOT are out-of-step with the Republican Party of Texas’s Platform and we are committed to changing that as soon as practicable.

Sincerely,

Shelley Luther
Republican Nominee, HD 62

Mike Olcott
Republican Nominee, HD 60

Trey Wharton
Republican Nominee, HD 12

Wes Virdell
Republican Nominee, HD 53

Katrina Pierson
Republican Nominee, HD 33

David Lowe
Republican Nominee, HD 91

AJ Louderback
Republican Nominee, HD 30

Andy Hopper
Republican Nominee, HD 64

Helen Kerwin
Republican Nominee, HD 58

Brent money
Republican Nominee, HD 2

TxDOT pushes ahead with buyout of SH 288 private toll road

Posted on August 30, 2024 by TTH admin

TxDOT pushes forward on buyback of SH 288
Action would reduce average daily toll rates by 50%

Aug. 23, 2024

AUSTIN – To provide Texans with toll relief and more free lanes on which to drive, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is preparing to terminate the SH 288 Comprehensive Development Agreement (CDA).

This action will place the SH 288 managed lanes in Harris County under full state control allowing future toll rates to be significantly less than what is allowed under the current agreement and enabling TxDOT to move ahead with adding more free lanes along SH 288.

“Building roads, reducing tolls, and saving taxpayer money are top priorities,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “All three are achieved with the Texas Department of Transportation terminating the SH 288 Comprehensive Development Agreement. It will allow the State of Texas to receive over $2 billion in added valuation. TxDOT will use the added value to slash future toll charges and to build free lanes on that segment of State Highway 288. I thank TxDOT for making it easier and cheaper for Texans to travel that route.”

The public can expect a reduction of average daily toll rates by 50% in the next few years. Also, TxDOT will be prepared to begin construction of additional free lanes along portions of SH 288 by no later than 2030, eliminating the contractual restrictions and repayment requirements specified in the current concession agreement.

“I have worked every day for the last few weeks with TxDOT, the Governor, and the Attorney General to bring about this historic action to terminate the SH 288 Comprehensive Development Agreement with a foreign company,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said. “It was a team effort. We will provide meaningful relief for Texas drivers along this corridor. Securing a more than $4 billion asset for just $1.7 billion will not only benefit Texas drivers, it will also enable TxDOT to continue investing in and advancing crucial roadway projects across the state. This strategic action demonstrates our commitment to making fiscally responsible decisions and prioritizing the best interests of Texas and its residents.”

“By taking this proactive, cost-saving opportunity, Texas will be able to provide toll relief by reducing average toll rates by 50% for drivers as soon as possible,” said Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Bruce Bugg, Jr. “By terminating this CDA, Texas will also be able to accelerate the construction of general-purpose lanes much faster than what the current CDA allows us. This is a big win for our taxpayers.”

TxDOT believes the cost of the “buy out” provision in the contract is substantially below the value of future toll revenues on the corridor—even with the anticipated reduction in toll rates. It is expected that the “buy out” payment of $1.7 billion would be paid off with future toll revenue bonds, ensuring that other planned projects around Texas will proceed on schedule.

Additionally, Texas can pay off debt at least 10 years earlier than the current concession agreement, allowing future tolls to be removed.

The state intends to assume operations in October 2024. Aside from lower toll rates and additional free lanes in the future, drivers should not expect to see any notable changes regarding maintenance, operations or billing.

Contact Media Relations at MediaRelations@txdot.gov or (512) 463-8700.

The Texas Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining 80,000 miles of road and for supporting aviation, maritime, rail and public transportation across the state.

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DOUBLE TAX: TxDOT buyout of private toll road draws ire

Posted on August 30, 2024 by TTH admin

TxDOT Toll Road $1.7 Billion Purchase Plan Draws More Complaints from Elected Officials, Candidates

Officials and candidates see the move as a form of double taxation.

Kim Roberts – Aug 22, 2024 – The Texan

A Texas state senator, a House member, and several House candidates have joined in expressing concerns about the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) decision to purchase the Highway 288 toll road in Harris County for $1.7 billion and continue charging tolls for its users.

Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park) raised questions about the decision and how much it will ultimately cost taxpayers.

“How much will this cost taxpayers to pay for this existing highway, given that TXDOT plans to issue bonds at today’s rates to pay itself back for the purchase of the road?” Cain inquired in his letter posted on X.

Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) also sent a letter to Chairman Bruce Bugg of TxDOT expressing his concerns about the plan to continue charging tolls on Highway 288 even after purchasing it with taxpayer dollars.

“This is a form of double taxation and is antithetical to Texas’ tax-friendly reputation,” Middleton stated in his letter.

He also pointed out that the tolls that will be charged after the purchase have the “same built-in profit rate as the private toll operator,” which Middleton said is “far above maintenance costs.” He called on TxDOT to eliminate the tolls on the road completely.

Joining Cain’s and Middleton’s concerns about the purchase are nine Republican nominees for the Texas House. They include Shelley Luther, Mike Olcott, Trey Wharton, Wes Virdell, AJ Louderback, Andy Hopper, Katrina Pierson, Helen Kerwin, and David Lowe.

In their letter, the nominees recited the Republican Party platform plank that states, “We call on the Texas Legislature to abolish existing toll roads.”

While the group of nominees acknowledges that abolishing existing toll roads may require the use of public money, they decry TxDOT’s plan to continue charging tolls, saying it sets “an alarming precedent” and “amounts to nothing less than double taxation.”

The toll road was constructed by BlueRidge Transportation Group and extends about 10 miles from Blodgett Street in Harris County southward, ending approximately at the county line between Harris and Brazoria counties. According to TxDOT, “The highway serves as an important thoroughfare into Houston and the primary express artery to the world’s largest medical complex, the Texas Medical Center.”

When The Texan previously asked about the total cost of the purchase, including finance costs, TxDOT spokesperson Adam Hammons said it is “too soon for TxDOT to make specific public disclosures of debt at this time.”

About the continuing toll charges, Hammons said that TxDOT anticipates reducing toll rates in the future, but that “during the contractually required transition period,” tolling policies that require some of the toll rates to increase each year based on inflation data on January 1 will continue.

Paxton sues GM over sale of drivers’ data

Posted on August 30, 2024 by TTH admin

Texas Sues General Motors Over Collection and Sale of Private Driving Data

General Motors was allegedly compensated for the deals with lump-sum payments and royalties, some worth millions of dollars.

Brad Johnson – Aug 15, 2024 – The Texan

General Motors (GM) collected and sold to insurance companies the private driving data of more than 1.5 million Texans, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has alleged in a new lawsuit.

Vehicles produced by GM from 2015 or later have technology marketed for the operability convenience and safety of its product, known as the “OnStar” feature. But that technology also comes with tracking capabilities.

“[F]or years, Defendants General Motors and its subsidiary, OnStar LLC have unlawfully collected, used, and sold the Driving Data it obtained through this technology,” the lawsuit alleges, accusing the company of deceptive trade practices. The amount of data collected and sold, according to the suit, is quite extensive.

“The Driving Data collected and sold by General Motors included data from over 14 million of its vehicles, and the data of more than 1.8 million Texans. That Driving Data consisted of the date, start time, end time, vehicle speed, driver and passenger seatbelt status, and distance driven each time a customer drove their GM vehicle. The Driving Data also consisted of information about customers’ use of other GM products, including data collected from General Motors’ mobile apps.”

GM’s largest assembly plant in the U.S. operates in Arlington and produces between 20,000 and and 30,000 vehicles per month with the help of 5,500 workers.

Through agreements, the lawsuit adds, GM stored the driving data in a “telematics exchange” that insurance companies accessed.

“After buying a license, an Insurer could access the respective Driving Scores of the more than 16 million customers whose data General Motors sold,” the petition reads. “Unbeknownst to these customers, Insurers could — and did — use these scores and data to make significant decisions that impacted customers including monthly premium increases, dropped coverage, or coverage denials.”

For the access, GM was compensated with lump-sum payments and royalties worth “millions.” One agreement with the British-based vehicle data company Wejo — which then sold the data onto others — was valued at $70 million.

The OAG announced an investigation into the allegations against more than one vehicle manufacturer back in June, and this is the first suit to stem from that investigation.

“Our investigation revealed that General Motors has engaged in egregious business practices that violated Texans’ privacy and broke the law. We will hold them accountable,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a release.

“Companies are using invasive technology to violate the rights of our citizens in unthinkable ways. Millions of American drivers wanted to buy a car, not a comprehensive surveillance system that unlawfully records information about every drive they take and sells their data to any company willing to pay for it.”

The disclosure statements provided to customers from GM were “confusing and highly misleading,” the petition asserted.

“[GM] may use [customers’] information to develop, enhance, provide, service, maintain, and improve the safety, security, and quality of [its] products, programs, and services, and for product research and marketing,” read one disclosure statement from the company.

The suit was filed in Montgomery County and seeks monetary relief of more than $1,000,000.

A GM spokesperson told The Texan, “We’ve been in discussions with the Attorney General’s office and are reviewing the complaint. We share the desire to protect consumers’ privacy.”