The Atlanta Regional Commission Transportation’s plan to construct new toll lanes on I-75 North and South of Atlanta to make commuting to downtown Atlanta easier will lift many burdens off of Georgia State commuter students, shortening the commute to work and lessening traffic.
However, according to the senior communications coordinator, the price at these tolls could be as high as $6 daily depending on traffic. That’s $60 a week going to and from Georgia State, a price too high for students already burdened with rising tuition.
In other words, having to pay a fee to commute for students who are already struggling to make financial ends meet could potentially be another reason students choose to drop out. According to multiple sources such as the New York Times and Washington Post, financial strains are the number one reason many students choose to drop out of college. And with tuition fees rising at Georgia State by 4 percent, or $156, next semester, students are already heavily burdened.
Many may argue that because students are utilizing the highway and the tolls go to the state, which funds Georgia State, there is no reason to excuse students from paying the toll. However, in the long term, it would be a bigger benefit to the state to make going to college more affordable.
A majority of people with 4-year degrees end up in higher-paying fields in the long run. While it is true that people with 2-year degrees can obtain high salaries as well, people with 4-year degrees tend to go into fields that increase pay with time, making overall income higher in the long run. These individuals with higher income end up giving more to the state through taxes. Let’s compare $60 per week in toll fees today to thousands of dollars in taxes in the future.
Since investing in students is the key to a better future not only socially but also economically, it makes sense to lessen their burdens. Many might also argue that a $6 toll is not a huge deal, and arguing for a waiver for students is not worth it. However, it is the little things that add up for students. When a student isn’t able to pay for groceries one week because they spent too much of their disposable income on a toll fee, it may be the one thing that convinces them it’s time to drop out of school altogether, lessening yet another future high bracket tax payer.
Unless the state wants to end up in sea of what would have been doctors, lawyers, engineers and entrepreneurs who would have given thousands, maybe millions, in taxes, but ended up dropping out to work at the local McDonalds, giving a couple hundred in taxes instead because college just wasn’t affordable, the state will have to consider more initiatives to make going to college easier. Even small things like a toll fee waiver will boost student morale, showing us the state wants to help us, even as tuition fees rise, to achieve our goals.
