House Transportation Leader Cites Tolls as a Matter of State Flexibility and Choice

Representative Rick Crawford (AR-1) opened the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Washington Briefing today with a call for the federal program to allow greater flexibility for state decision-making and local solutions.  His example focused on tolling.

Crawford serves as the Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Highway and Transit Subcommittee.  His priority is to prepare states for greater infrastructure investment through greater flexibility. His remarks were right out of the IBTTA’s script on the federal agenda.

He noted that not all states have the authority to toll their highways but suggested that states should have the ability to explore tolling as a revenue tool if it fits their local interest and needs. Crawford pointed to today’s technology as a means to make tolling viable saying, “tollbooths are a thing of the past. If states leverage technology, it will be a seamless ride.”

Crawford spoke of the merits of E-ZPass and electronic toll account management as a choice that travelers are making and a real value for many motorists, such as truckers. Crawford was careful to say that he was not advocating tolling, per se, but championing flexibility and choice in federal programs. He said that tolling might not be the right fit in Arkansas, but Arkansas, and not the federal government, should have the power to choose. IBTTA looks forward to engaging with Representative Crawford and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to support this as a priority in implementing the federal transportation programs.