Local protests have led officials to seek ways to reduce the new wave of trucks in central Jersey, but after four months, it looks like modest Turnpike toll reduction may not be one of them. A Turnpike release last week said that since August, there has been appreciable growth in Turnpike charge accounts, but only 10 of 177 new accounts were new Turnpike customers. Thus, the toll discounts have attracted little new traffic. It's also unclear whether NJ officials are conducting before and after surveys of truck use on the smaller highways where burgeoning truck traffic has become an issue.

The Turnpike Authority nonetheless says that these results are inconclusive - the Authority will likely extend the six-month trial period after February. The Turnpike has undertaken a new advertising campaign to try to better publicize the program.

The NY State Thruway Authority recently concluded that its variable toll policy for trucks on the Tappan Zee Bridge (see MTR #196), would have greater impact if it was accompanied by more outreach to truckers and trucking companies. 76% of cash-paying drivers surveyed had not been aware of the program.

Still, it's far from clear the Turnpike can ever do enough outreach or get the price right when its competitor, I-287, remains a freeway. Truck tolls on I-287 have just begun to receive attention in the public debate over traffic problems in New Jersey. A new federal program allows a limited number of states to experiment with tolls on the Interstate system.