Drivers Protest Expressway Toll Hike
Most Orange Co. Tolls Increased 25 Cents
Monday, April 6, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. -- About a dozen people stood outside a state Road 408 on-ramp armed with signs, protesting the 25 cent increase at most Orange County toll booths.
Monday was the first workday with the new prices, and not everybody stood for it.
Davall Pinkelton spent the morning standing on a guardrail to 408 trying to get his message across.
"It's going to cost me an extra $10 to go back and forth to work," Pinkelton said.
Even though there were only about a dozen protestors, motorists honked in acknowledgement at their message throughout the morning.
"I don’t think the tolls going up is right; I mean, the economy is bad enough," protestor Pauly Vickers said.
Doug Guetzloe organized the protest.
"The more they toll, the more they make. The more they make, the more they come back and ask for more tolls. So I think it is time to abolish that," Guetzloe said.
Expressway Authority officials said not as many people are using the toll roads and revenue is down. They said the increase was unavoidable.
Protestors said those tough times are the same reason they cannot afford the increased tolls, and why they haven't been using the toll roads as much.
"It doesn't matter right now the way that everything is. People don't have the money to feed kids and pay bills. Why should we have to pay extra to get to where we have to be?" Pinkelton said.
Authority officials said the increase is a matter of keeping up with the times and keeping up with their costs.
Toll prices have not been raised in 19 years.
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