The Township Committee has introduced an ordinance that increases the rates charged for towing. A public hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, April 14.
The ordinance, introduced March 10, sets a rate the towing companies are allowed to charge. It also sets a rotating log for the calls, so that the companies who have applied to be included on the list will be called for towing on a rotating basis.
The fees a towing company is allowed to charge is set through ordinance, although the township makes no profit from towing. The township does not get a cut from those towing companies after they respond to a call either.
Among the new fees that would be charged are: $115 per vehicle per hour for a tow; a clean-up fee of $45 per vehicle will apply for clean-up at the collision scene; a fee for absorbent material for fluids on the roadways at $20 a bag; and a fee for roadside assists, including changing flat tires, jump starting dead batteries, and lock outs, which will not exceed $50.
The rate that is currently charged to a driver or the driver’s insurance company is currently $85 in Plainsboro. Surrounding communities’ rates average $140 a tow.
