Mass. Turnpike OK's hefty toll hikes

The Boston Globe reports:

Daily commuters from the western suburbs would be forced to spend $250 to $500 more a year to help pay off Big Dig maintenance and debt under a set of steep toll increases approved yesterday by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority,

The cost of driving through the Allston-Brighton and Weston tollbooths would rise to $2 for cash customers early next year, up from $1.25, if the increases are given final approval after a series of public hearings.

Leaving Logan International Airport, already the most expensive drive in town, could become one of the pricier trips in the country. Tolls at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels would double, from $3.50 to $7 for cash customers and from $5.25 to $9 for taxicab drivers, who must pay a commercial fee.

That means that, with other start-up fees tacked on, the cost of taking a cab from the airport into downtown Boston would cost $13.85 before the trip begins.

"You can almost rent a car for that in some cities," said Kristin Cowdin, a New Yorker waiting for a cab yesterday at Logan.

We can assure you,unless ACORN handles the next census count for the Obama administration,Massachusetts will lose another House seat after the 2010 Census.