Take Our Poll: Should NH, RI Drivers Pay Tolls If Mass Pike Drivers Have To?

WORCESTER, MA — What's the difference between the drive to Boston from Worcester, and the drive to Boston from Nashua, NH?

About $4.40, if you pay your toll with an E-Z Pass transponder.

MassDOT Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt this week sparked a border war when she suggested Massachusetts should start tolling drivers coming into the state from New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Howie Carr called her a "nutjob," the Herald used the headline "Off Her Nutt."

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte both took shots at the idea (perhaps forgetting about their state's tolls near the MA border?) and even Gov. Maura Healey stepped in to clarify the MassDOT chief's toll opinions "do not represent the views of this administration."

But if you're a resident of anywhere west of I-95 — or even New York and Connecticut — you might've been left wondering: shouldn't those out-of-state commuters pay their fair share, just like we do?

Maybe it's another case of Boston-brain, which causes anyone within a subway ride of Beacon Hill to forget about the whole rest of the state. If you drive to Boston from Worcester, Framingham, Westborough or even Springfield, you pay tolls back and forth, every day. Anyone heading to Boston from central Connecticut will also likely pay a Mass Pike toll. Same for any day tripper or ultra-commuter coming to the Berkshires or Boston from just over the New York border.

Tibbits-Nutt's comments were related to a state task force established by Healey that's charged with developing a long-term funding plan to keep roads, bridges, highways and transit infrastructure "safe, reliable, and efficient." The task force does include representatives from central Massachusetts, including former Worcester city manager Ed Augustus, Worcester School Committee member Alex Guardiola and Shrewsbury resident and 495/MetroWest Partnership Executive Director Jason Palitsch.

Tibbits-Nutt has said she wants the task force to be aggressive, exploring revenue sources like tolling and charging heavy road users, like delivery services and rideshare companies. The state takes in about $1 billion each year from tolls and gas taxes, but needs to spend more than double that to keep up with infrastructure — an important task made very real recently by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, and the failure of the I-195 bridge between Providence and East Providence.

If you pay tolls, or just want to give your opinion, take our (very unscientific) poll: