OOIDA Information Update - Ohio Members
August 16, 2006

Attention: Ohio truckers. The Ohio Turnpike Commission will hold the first of three planned public hearings on proposed toll-rate increases Tuesday, Aug. 29, in Toledo. You are encouraged to attend to make sure your views are known on the proposed toll hikes that would take effect Jan. 1, 2007.

The commission is considering changes to the toll structure for vehicles in classes 1 through 11. For Class 8 trucks, the toll to travel the length of the 241-mile route would increase from $31 to $33.50 - an 8 percent increase. Car drivers would face about a 13.5 percent rate boost.

Turnpike officials say the rate increase is needed to gain back some of the revenue from a 25 percent rollback for trucks implemented in January 2005 when the commission received a state subsidy. That subsidy has since expired.

Gov. Bob Taft, who proposed the rollback and other efforts to lure large trucks back to the turnpike from nearby secondary routes, pledged last month to ask state lawmakers to block any increase.

The first hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29, at One Government Center, Jackson Blvd., First Floor Hearing Room, Toledo, OH, 43604. The other two hearings have yet to be scheduled.

Anyone interested in commenting on the proposal will have an opportunity at the hearings. Attendees will be allowed to provide comments orally - time permitting - or in writing.

Public comments can be directed to Executive Director Gary Suhadolnik of the Ohio Turnpike Commission, 682 Prospect St., Berea, OH, 44017. For visitors to the commission Web site at ohioturnpike.org, a link is available to submit comments online. For additional information on the public meeting, contact Noelle Tsevdos, General Counsel for the Ohio Turnpike Commission at (440) 234-2081, ext. 1021.