New York's MTAB&T to study cashless all electronic tolling (ADDITIONS)

MTA Bridges and Tunnels (MTAB&T) in New York is joining the list of US toll authorities planning or studying going cashless. Later this year the New York toller will commission a study on the feasibility of replacing cash collection with video. The news was a single sentence in a long prepared speech by MTA chief executive Elliot Sander titled "The State of the MTA" at Cooper Union on the authority's 40th anniversary:

"With an eye toward reducing congestion and idling engines, MTA Bridges & Tunnels will commission a study later this year on the feasibility of adopting 'video tolling' technology as a replacement for cash-toll collection, similar to the system in use on Route 407 around Toronto."

see http://www.mta.info/mta/news/public/somta.html

Legally titled the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, B&T is the largest toll authority in North America as measured by toll revenues collected - about $1,300m this year. It has the largest daily volume of any bridge authority in the US - 835k vehicles/day.

It controls most of the major connections between the island boroughs of New York City - the major bridges between Staten Island and Brooklyn (Verrazano Narrows Bridge), between the Bronx and Manhattan (Henry Hudson  Bridge, Triborough Bridge which also links Queens) between the Bronx and Queens (Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges) between Brooklyn and Manhattan (Brooklyn Battery Tunnel), between Manhattan and Queens (Queens Midtown Tunnel) and the causeway/bridges to barrier islands south of Brooklyn.

All electronic tolling would be a huge move for B&T. It presently has a fully gated toll system, that is entirely lane constrained - the toll lanes hemmed in by the concrete curbs of the old stop-to-pay manual and coin machine setup.

To be sure B&T was a pioneer in electronic tolling and has one of the highest usage rates for E-ZPass - close to 75% overall - but unlike most toll authorities in the US it has no higher speed or multi-lane electronic tolling.

B&T and its fixation on gates has come under criticism from other tollers for hampering the E-ZPass Inter Agency Group in moving toward even limited use of video tolling for rental cars and fleets - a development which has mushroomed in Texas, Florida and other states outside the IAG. A move directly to all electronic tolling would dramatically change the opportunities for innovation within the whole E-ZPass IAG area.

Michael Ascher and Susan Kupferman, former CEOs of B&T, argued against getting rid of gates on the grounds that it would cause unacceptable losses from violations and uncollectable tolls and penalties. But critics of the gates say the benefits of better traffic flow through ungated toll lanes makes up for any revenue losses, and that improvements in cameras and violation management allow violation losses to be kept to an acceptable level.

A study at North Carolina Turnpike Authority last year found lower operating costs of all electronic tolling at least offset the likely level of revenue losses from violations. Miami Dade Expressway, North Texas Tollway Authority, E470 Public Highway Authority, Central Texas RMA and TxDOT are all committed to going all electronic - abandoning cash. Maryland's Inter County Connector and I-95 HOT Lanes are both under construction as all electronic.

The specter of all electronic all around

Much more compelling is the prospect of all electronic tolling right alongside B&T facilities given that two cashless toll networks are in prospect:
- the City's congestion charge zone in Manhattan south of Central Park
- the Port Authority's serious move toward all electronic tolling

It would hardly be possible for B&T to stand comparison with free flow cashless tolling on the Hudson River crossings and over a large area of Manhattan without at least an exhaustive study of the pros and cons. So the study could be seen as prudent pre-emption of adverse comparisons. But perhaps it is just the thought: Why not get the best advice out there on what's involved, the pros and cons, the costs and benefits, and how you transition.

Catherine Sweeney at B&T told us today the study of all electronic tolling will be a thorough "assessment" - she used that word assessment several times rather than study - of what would be involved in adoption of free flow cashless tolling at the B&T's nine toll plazas.

She said there will be a Request for Proposals from consultants to conduct the study. No specifications, timetable or budget are yet set.

COMMENT: A mix of open road tolling through the middle and cash to the sides has always been difficult to design into most of B&T's facilities because of their tight geometry - the small size of the flare-outs at the toll plazas and the high financial cost and political difficulty of getting enough real estate to separate and merge free flowing and stopping traffic safely.

Roll-through electronic tolling has been about the best they could do so long as cash has to be collected.

But if they end cash collection then it's a whole different game. Both transponder and video tolling occur at normal highway speeds. And B&T gets to sell some surplus real estate at the old toll plazas.

Toll increases at B&T are incremental and encouraging ET

B&T is now doing smaller and somewhat more frequent toll increases. March 16 they increase the major crossings each-way toll for cars with an E-ZPass transponder from $4.00 to $4.15, a 3.75% increase. Cash tolls for cars go up from $4.50 to $5.00, an 11% increase.

For the first time the B&T will have a $10 toll for cars - the one way cash toll on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge where there's only a toll one direction. The E-ZPass toll there outbound only will be twice the major facility each-way toll at $8.30.

Additional axle charges go up by similar amounts. Present toll rates were set in March 2005.

The transponder discount goes from 11% to 17%.

TOLLROADSnews 2008-03-04 ADDITIONS 2008-03-05