Road Warrior column is another retread

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Editor's note: If Road Warrior John Cichowski recognizes any other mode of commuting besides the car, he isn't letting on. His latest column -- on the carpool discount at the Hudson River crossings -- was full of problems, according to a concerned reader, who has e-mailed The Record's management and Cichowski to that effect.

Wow!  It's the Road Warrior's first article of the new year and already he is providing misleading, miscalculated and false information -- along with key omissions of relevant items that leave readers guessing about car pools and discounts at the GWB bridge.


What makes matter's worse is that the Jan. 2 column is basically a retread of The Record's June 20, 2012, news report -- including some of the same characters -- that had  much better and more accurate information.
 
To add insult to injury, previous Road Warrior columns addressed this same issue, which now seems to appear as a fantastic discovery by the Road Warrior in his 1/2/13 column.


The Record or Road Warrior should make appropriate corrections and updates in a future column and ensure better coverage of this topic. 


1)  Misleading false statement - "Budget-minded drivers have been soliciting enough budget-minded passengers [right before the GW Bridge in Fprt Lee] to take advantage of the Port Authority's E-ZPass car-pool toll rates — now $4.25.  For drivers, this bargain amounts to a $6-a-day discount — big, but small compared with free rides for passengers."

CORRECT FACTS - Road Warrior also indicated passengers would have to pay $2 to take a bus to cross the GW Bridge.  Therefore, passengers are saving only $2-a-day.  For most people, a "big" $6-a-day discount is NOT "small" compared to a savings of $2-a-day for free rides.


2)  Misleading false statement- "Police last year [2012] began ticketing drivers looking for passengers at this [GW Bridge] stop."

CORRECT FACTS - As previously reported in the 6/20/12 news article, police began ticketing more drivers in 2011, which is NOT last year.  To make his reported statement look even more foolish, the Road Warrior then reports in the next sentence "The crackdown began after E-ZPass tolls rose from $8 to $9.50 in September 2011"
3) Unfulfilled reporting - Road Warrior opens his column with "Want a bargain?", but NEVER answers for drivers how they can get that bargain.

Key Omissions - Unfortunately, the Road Warrior leaves readers in the dark by FAILING to mention that drivers should go to http://www.panynj.gov/bridges-tunnels/e-zpass.html#carpool for more info. What good is the Road Warrior if he mentions a bargain, but does not mention the critical info below.


  - E-ZPass drivers must preregister for PA Carpool Discount Plan in order to use it
  - Must use an E-ZPass booth with a toll collector, who checks number of passengers
  - Need at least 2 passengers to qualify for car pool discount.


The Road Warrior should also be aware that:


  - All-day E-ZPass car pool toll of $4.25 is $6 discount for peak hours and $4 off-peak.
  - Discount NOT available if you have E-ZPass from another state besides NY or NJ.
4) Questionable quoted answer - "How do I know if a bus driver isn't drunk?"

SCREENING FOR BETTER ANSWERS - This should NOT be the last thoughtless reason at the end of his column about the relative danger of getting into a car with an unknown driver. Perhaps, we should ask how do we know if the quoted commuter was not drunk when he made such a statement.


The Road Warrior Jan. 2 column is the 28^th article with transportation reporting problems, starting with his 9/12/12 article, about which I've notified The Record's management & Road Warrior without substantive results or any preventive actions to address these problems and very few published corrections.

Here's hoping for change in the coming new year and better fact checking, corrections, reviewing (Googling?), and better coverage by The Record's editors, columnists, & reporters based on more reliable, accurate, and common sense info prior to publication.