The $7.00 tunnel fare

There is general outrage over the $7.00 tunnel fare the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is trying to impose on commuters.

The doubling of the fare has local politicians almost out of their minds at the effrontery of the MTA, which is trying to save its own neck after borrowing so much more money than it can repay.

There is talk of a possible tunnel boycott led by union members. Cab drivers, now near extinction because of the fall off in traffic coming out of the airport, are hard pressed to figure a way out of this mess. And how about those taking a cab. The moment they step into a cab at the airport the fare is over $10.00 with the doubling of the tunnel fare.

North End business owners fear that tens of thousands of North Shore people who tend to visit the North End will no longer consider it.

What a situation.

Everett is the worst off with most savvy drivers set to avoid the tunnel for the ride up 16 through Everett to 99 through Everett into Boston. It is likely that traffic will be backed up to Ipswich if the new fare is put into effect in January.