The Maine Turnpike Authority board of directors, following long deliberations and a series of public meetings, voted last week to increase the cash price of tolls at three toll plazas to help fill a budget gap and pay off long-term debt.

Starting Nov. 1, motorists will pay $1 more at the York toll plaza and 50 cents more at the New Gloucester and West Gardiner booths. Vehicles heading northbound at Wells and southbound at Gray will see 50-cent bumps in cash toll rates. Users of the electronic E-ZPass system will see an additional 1 cent per mile, to 7.7 cents, with a minimum of 50 cents. Commercial truckers will continue to pay four times the rate of passenger vehicles.

There are also volume discounts available, starting at 10 percent for more than 30 trips per month, and rising 10 percent for every 10 trips thereafter and ending with a 50 percent discount for more than 70 trips.

The board expects the rate hikes to raise an additional $21.1 million to help pay the debt on the project completed in 2005 that widened 30 miles of road south of Portland, as well as future maintenance and infrastructure.

Peter Mills, executive director for the Maine Turnpike Authority, said even with the increases, the turnpike remains in the bottom 20 percent of U.S. toll roads for cost

“You’re still getting a bargain for driving 109 miles in Maine,” he said, according to the Associated Press.

A number of proposals regarding the toll price hikes were offered during the last few months, with much of the debate centered on how to make the toll rates fair and equitable. Residents of the Lewiston-Auburn area were particularly vocal, arguing that they bear a heavy burden due to the structure of the toll rates.

It is a good point, considering that motorists driving from Lewiston-Auburn to Portland, Maine’s most populous area and commercial hub, must pay for that right, while Portland-area residents can move about freely on Interstate 295, particularly to the affluent northern suburbs. That’s largely because federal law prohibits tolls on I-295 unless expansion is necessary, something that is not expected for 15-20 years, according to Mills.

But other measures can be taken to assure that the burden for paying for Maine’s major roads is spread fairly.

Turnpike officials are already looking for ways to get more motorists to use the E-ZPass system, an initiative they should put on the fast track, with help of state lawmakers when necessary. It is almost certain that electronic toll-takers will replace their human counterparts fully in a matter of years. Paying per mile assures that drivers are being charged an amount commensurate with their use, and it helps greatly the residents who live close to a toll plaza and take the highway for short trips. E-ZPass also lowers labor costs at the MTA.

At the same time, officials should consider eliminating the minimum toll for E-ZPass users, a suggestion made by board member Bob Stone that would further help rates reflect the real cost of a driver’s usage.

The authority should also explore options for making sure the high-priced York toll plaza is catching all the tourists it can while letting locals off the hook as much as possible. The cost for maintaining the turnpike should not fall solely on residents.

Lastly, the state should approximate the true value of the turnpike, for moving goods and people, in order to decide how much of the cost of upkeep should be the responsibility of users and how much should be picked up by the general public. After all, a turnpike in good condition, allowing traffic between Maine’s four largest population centers, benefits the entire state.

Ben Bragdon, managing editor

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