Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce said a consultant’s report released on Friday that predicts about 20 percent of the drivers who use New Jersey's toll roads will abandon them if Governor Corzine’s 800 percent toll hike scheme is approved debunks administration claims to the contrary.
The consulting report projected 20 percent to 30 percent of those who would use the New Jersey Turnpike and Atlantic City Expressway and 10 to 20 percent of those who would use the Garden State Parkway would find other routes.
“What are they thinking?” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “As tolls go up, use of the toll roads will go down. Period. End of story.
“The Corzine administration is deluding itself if it believes most or all will return to the toll roads after the initial rate shock has abated,” DeCroce said. “Unlike past toll increases, Corzine's plan guarantees one huge toll hike after another. When truckers and commuters know tolls will increase each year, they will lose all incentive to return. They know it's only going to get worse for them as the years pass.”
DeCroce said the consultant’s report is concrete proof that Corzine’s massive toll hike and borrowing scheme will backfire and inflict more harm on the state and its economy.
“This is a disaster waiting to happen for the middle class. Corzine’s scheme will only make New Jersey a less affordable place to live.”