Ohio Turnpike: Welcome Back, Big Rigs...Sort Of
Higher speed limit and lower fuel prices are a good start, but tolls should come down, too.
News from the Buckeye state: The Ohio Turnpike Commission has raised the speed limit for trucks to 65 mph, and negotiated lower prices on diesel fuel bought at the Sunoco stations along the route. It's all part of a new campaign to get more trucks to use the turnpike instead of surface roads.
There may be more good news coming. Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has also called for a "meaningful toll reduction" on the turnpike.
That would be a major turnaround. Ohio Turnpike tolls have gone up by 82% since 1995. A big rig going the length of the turnpike from the Indiana border to the Pennsylvania border (or vice-versa) now pays more than $40 for the privilege.
The turnpike's revenue from truck tolls has fallen 62% since those tolls started to increase in 1995. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why.
Meanwhile, truck traffic has grown heavy on parallel (and free) highways such as Ohio State Route 2 and U.S. 20. Truck-related accidents have also increased on those alternative routes, prompting Gov. Taft to launch the effort to get those trucks back on the turnpike.
He directed the turnpike commission, the Ohio Department of Transportation and the State Highway Patrol to develop a workable plan and - working with the Ohio Trucking Assn. - they did. It led in early September to raising the turnpike's truck speed limit to the same level as automobiles (trucks had been limited to 55 mph).
Still to be worked out, if it ever is: A system for those "meaningful toll reductions." That's a tough one, since the turnpike has to pay its own maintenance bills and doesn't want to give up revenue.
The commission's approach in the past has been to raise tolls and add or improve service plazas, hoping they will attract more truckers. Didn't work.
There's a story about a guy whose car had a flat tire in front of a mental institution. He took the lug nuts off the flat, placed them in the hubcap he'd removed, then tripped over his jack handle, dropping all the lug nuts into a creek. They were lost.
As he pondered his next move, a mental patient who had been watching through the fence said, "You know, if you took one lug nut off each of the other wheels, you'd have enough to hold the spare on 'til you get to a service station."
"That's brilliant!" said the motorist. "What's a guy like you doing in a mental hospital?"
"I may be crazy," said the patient, "but I'm not stupid."
The turnpike commission's past strategy hasn't worked because truckers - while they may be crazy for being in this crazy business - aren't stupid.
A toll reduction mixed in with cheaper turnpike fuel and the higher speed limit would move a lot of trucks off the parallel routes onto the turnpike. Maybe even enough to make up the revenue shortfall.
Another alternative being discussed by the parties involved is for the state to subsidize the turnpike for lost revenue from toll reductions. If that's necessary, so be it. A subsidy would likely be worth it, just from the standpoint of improving safety and cutting congestion on the parallel routes.
Properly done, this will be a win-win-win situation for Ohio, the turnpike and the trucking industry. But status quo tolls won't get it done.
Doug Condra
President
E-mail Doug Condra at dcondra@truckinginfo.com or write PO Box W. Newport Beach, Calif. 92656.
