FOR RELEASE:

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
Statement on Thruway Board Toll Hike Vote

“Now is not the time to raise tolls on the Thruway. Gas is approaching $4-a-gallon. Transportation costs are driving up the price of everything from flour and milk to lumber and sheetrock. The last thing New Yorkers need now is another tax increase disguised as a toll hike. In January, we released an audit that laid out opportunities for cost-savings and efficiencies at the Thruway Authority, but there still hasn’t been a comprehensive effort to cut costs."

“A toll hike should be the last resort, after every possibility for economy and efficiency has been exhausted. My office continues to dig deeper into Thruway operations, and we urge Governor Paterson and the Legislature to do the same. There’s only one answer to a Thruway toll increase right now: No.”

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