407etr

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has made a $3.1b (A$3.47b) bid for Intoll, the Macquarie based spin-off whose main asset is a 30% share in the 407ETR tollroad in Toronto Canada.

Americans naturally head north it seems this time of the year for holidays. Anyway 407ETR in Toronto Canada reports a record daily traffic count June 30: 454,275 trips made on the tollroad. That compares with normal workday counts of 375k and a previous one-day record of 446k Oct 5, 2007.

Widening into a median can be a very economical method of adding to capacity. Example is 36 lane-km, 22.4 lane-miles being added to the 407ETR in Toronto Canada. This adds two lanes each direction for 9km, 5.6 miles between H404 to Markham Rd.  (see map)

407ETR in Toronto the world's first all-electronic tollroad reports revenues of C$560m in calender 2009 a 2.5% increase on 2008's $546.5m. At C$1=US$0.931 2009 revenue is US$521.4m. (All further $#s are C$s)

Traffic dropped 2.6% to 303.5k/day from 2008's 311.7k/day, average workday trips from 377.9k to 367.3k. But average trip distance was up slightly and vehicle-kms traveled were 2,214.8m down 1.7% on the 2,252.7m of 2008.

407ETR are raising tolls differentially to boost revenues and to manage congestion. Toll changes announced today and effective Feb 1 2010 see an increase in the main peak hours premium from 10.3% to 16.3% over off-peak.

Leading concessionaire Macquarie report that their weighted average of traffic worldwide was up 1.6% in the last quarter, July-September, an improvement on the low point early this year. Greatest traffic strength was on the APRR motorway network in central France, up 3.4% over last year, and Westlink Sydney up 5.7%. The American pikes were the poor performers in traffic with the exception of Chicago Skyway.

Traffic on Canada's big tollroad 407ETR is down 3.8% the first half of this year (2009H1) versus first half of 2008 (2008H1) but a slightly larger increase in toll rates (4.7%) has ensured that revenues are holding. Revenues in 2009H1 were running at an annual $469m (C$524m @$C=90c) based on 292.1k trips/day versus 303.8k in 2008H1, the 3.8% decline. The revenue in 2008H1 was $468m (C$520.2m.)

407International holding company for 407ETR tollroad in Toronto has paid off C$400m in 6.05% bonds with proceeds of recently floated 3 year notes paying 4.65% and 5 year notes paying 5.1%, reducing their interest costs. C$=82cUS

TOLLROADSnews 2009-03-19

407ETR the privately operated Toronto Ontario tollroad reports 2008 traffic about level with 2007 and revenue up 5.3% to $437m (C$547m @C$=80c). The December quarter saw traffic down - 3.4% as measured by vehicle-km traveled vs 2007Q4, 1.5% down by total trips, 1.9% down by average workday trips.

The big tollroad in Toronto, 407ETR, reports traffic pretty much flat in the September quarter versus a year ago - average weekday traffic of 391.6k trips 2008Q3 vs 392.4k 2007Q3. That 0.2% decline is offset by a small increase in weekend traffic for total trips in the quarter of 29.79m up 0.7%.