ibtta

IBTTA is maintaining a media-in-sessions-only rule for the Transportation Finance and Mileage Based User Fee symposium up the road in Philadelphia this weekend, so we continue to stay away. Much of the value of these conferences is the opportunity to mingle casually, renew old acquaintances and make new ones before sessions, between sessions and after sessions.

Toll industry association IBTTA is calling on the Feds to ease their restrictions on toll financing, saying: "The federal government can’t afford to pay for many of the transportation investments the country needs…state and local governments should have the flexibility to choose the funding tools that work best for them."

Two of the greats of American tolling, Jack Finn of HNTB and Ken Philmus of Xerox have been recognized by IBTTA as Honorary Members (HM.) An announcement by the toll industry association says this is the highest honor that IBTTA can bestow for “outstanding contribution(s) in the furtherance of the purpose and objectives of the association.”

The selection was made by the board of directors at their recent Miami meeting.

2012-10-04: E-ZPass leaders today denied they expect other toll blocs around the country to join E-ZPass as part of the implementation of national interoperability (IOP) although they say they expect some new members. PJ Wilkins executive director was asked this question directly in an hour long internet hookup - a "Webinar" - organized by IBTTA and the E-ZPass Group (EZPG) Thursday.

A number of readers have asked whether I'll be at the IBTTA's annual meeting in Orlando Sept 9 thru 12.

No, because IBTTA maintains its anti-media policy that media people may attend "sessions only" which in Atlanta led to us being confronted twice by IBTTA's chief executive Pat Jones and prevented from continuing conversations at an after-session drinks event.  

Lest I be thought to be making too much of Pat Jones' confrontations of your editor during my trip to Atlanta I 'fess up to another confrontation quite unrelated to IBTTA.

It was around 3am Monday morning at an Econolodge where I was staying near the Atlanta Airport.

A very deliberate rapping at the door woke me from a deep sleep.

I staggered to my feet, flung open the door, saying sleepily "Whadda-Ya-Want?"

2012-08-02: IBTTA CEO Pat Jones' MISO ('media-in-sessions-only') rule is in the fine print of the program for the toll industry association's annual meeting in Orlando FL September 9-12, it has been pointed out. Page 20 in the right column contains the small item: "Members of the credentialed media are welcome to attend sessions only…" (see nearby)

see p20 right column, middle of page

(copy of an email sent to leading people in IBTTA)

All:  At the recent Atlanta conference of IBTTA Pat Jones unveiled a completely new rule excluding the media from all but the formal sessions of IBTTA conferences. It was spelled out in the conference program: "MEDIA: Members of the media are permitted to attend sessions ONLY…" (page 13)

Twice during the conference Pat interrupted conversations with members to confront me and force me to leave in order to enforce this new anti-media policy.

2012-07-26: The amazing slimdown and rejuvenation of E-ZPass Group executive PJ Wilkins was the major topic of conversation in the breaks at Atlanta - a lot of us are jealous of his trim new figure - but the policy item that seemed to generate the most buzz was CDMSmith Ed Regan's advocacy of cheap 6C sticker tags as the most feasible tech

Sounds like a good confab.