- Bill To Stem Fraudulent Texas License Tag Use Gets Strong Police Support
- Michigan Lawmakers Dither Over How To Raise Badly Needed Transportation Funding
- Iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge Will Soon Stop Accepting Cash Toll Payments
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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Bill To Stem Fraudulent Texas License Tag Use Gets Strong Police Support
Houston Chronicle reports, a Texas House bill (HB 718) “inching its way through the legislative process” aims to stop the flood of fraudulent paper license tags originating in Texas that allow scofflaws to avoid paying tolls and other transportation fees, and help other criminals avoid apprehension. It calls for supplying legitimate car dealers with permanent metal plates that they would issue at the time of sale. “Those dealer-issued plates then would correspond with the vehicles from the start, as their registrations are processed. . . . Such a change could help police better track and trace plates to vehicles, and reduce the use of paper tags.” Law enforcement officers turned out in force to support the bill at a House Transportation Committee hearing last week. Although the Chronicle states a committee vote is expected this week, the measure is not listed on the agenda of the panel’s next (April 5) meeting. An identical companion bill (SB 2567) has not yet received a hearing.
Crime Beat Issues of Law Scofflaws TexasMichigan Lawmakers Dither Over How To Raise Badly Needed Transportation Funding
Bridge Michigan reports, “Michigan’s infrastructure is in bad shape, and recent estimates suggest the state’s roads, bridges, water systems and transit are only getting costlier to fix. But at least for now, the state’s Democratic leadership — including the governor who rode into office on a promise to ‘fix the damn roads’ — isn’t quite ready to take the oft-traveled, pothole-riddled road toward a long-term funding plan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer offered little in the way of new funding ideas for addressing Michigan’s infrastructure issues in her state budget proposal. And Democratic lawmakers, fresh off of three months of tackling a slew of progressive priorities, haven’t yet taken up any major policy or spending initiatives that would put a dent into the estimated $3.9 billion-per-year gap between the cost of fixing the state’s roadways and how much the state currently spends on road repairs.” The article looks at the history of recent (failed) attempts to increase state transportation funding, as well as alternatives to the rejected idea of a hike in fuel taxation. Two of the concepts under discussion are tolling and mileage-based use fees.
Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports ETC Systems Infrastructure Investment Trends Michigan Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Road Use Charging (RUC-MBUF-VMT)Iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge Will Soon Stop Accepting Cash Toll Payments
BBC News reports, this summer, the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, southwest England, a 19th century civil engineering landmark, will go cashless. “Drivers . . . will still be charged £1 [1.24 USD] to cross but will no longer be able to pay machines using cash. Instead they have been asked to use debit or credit cards, bridge cards or Samsung, Google or Apple Pay.” An official of the bridge’s operating trust says card payment has gained popularity since the beginning of the pandemic, adding “The change to card only will also make our processes more efficient by removing cash and reducing the amount of downtime for maintenance of what is now outdated machinery.”
Automatic Toll Payment Machines ETC Systems United KingdomThese are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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