AC Surf Going To Pay Your Tolls, Kinda

The Atlantic City Surf, formerly the chief rivals of the Camden Riversharks in the battle of the Atlantic City Expressway, open up the season on May 26. For some reason the team put out a press release today saying it will pay your tolls for you if you show your receipt. And by that, of course, I mean you will get $1 off.

Howzzat work? The Surf is actually just paying your toll at the Pleasantville exchange of the AC Expressway, which is 50 cents each way. The Surf claim in a release they “have you covered” if you’re “tired of tolls,” but only if the only toll you’re tired of is the 50-cent one at Pleasantville.

“Surf games have always been inexpensive family entertainment, and we don’t want that to change for our fans who come from outlying areas,” Surf VP Ryan Conley said. “Just show us your receipt from your way into the game, and we’ll cover the cost of your tolls – 50 cents each way.”

In other news, the Surf are having will also have William Hung at a game this year. I think the toll promotion has something to do with Gov. Corzine wanting to make tolls $80 per axle by 2010.

Toll Cheats To Be Hunted Down, Killed

The Inquirer’s Edward Colimore writes today about the nation’s number one scourage: Scofflaws who don’t pay tolls.

Apparently, drivers dodge $2 million in tolls on the Atlantic City Expressway and the Delaware River bridges, $6 million on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway and $9 million on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. One man even had $2,000 in outstanding tolls, somehow.

Troopers in New Jersey have decided to start cracking down on these men and women who steal up to and including 50 cents per ride at some places. Although he seems to insist the toll on the Atlantic City Expressway is only 25 cents, Colimore does a nice job of explaining the lengths people will go to evade tolls:

Some try to thwart toll cameras by covering their license plates. One man who was caught on the New Jersey Turnpike had devised a pulley system that covered his plate when he pulled a string. [...]

One motorist left a sand shark head in the basket at the Cape May toll plaza on the Garden State Parkway. Another driver duct-taped the change basket at the Pleasantville exit of the Atlantic City Expressway, then collected the money later.

That one driver was using a little-known provision in New Jersey law: Tolls can be paid by sand shark heads of equal or greater value to the charge in American dollars. Look it up.

Fighting a runaway problem [Inquirer]