- PANYNJ Collected Over $25 Million From Toll Scofflaws In 2023 Through Stepped-Up Enforcement
- Washington Commission Schedules Final Express Lane Toll Adjustment Hearing
- MTA Official: Congestion Pricing Lawsuits Risk Delaying Major Transit Upgrades
- Dubai Considers Shifting Salik Toll System To Dynamic Pricing
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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PANYNJ Collected Over $25 Million From Toll Scofflaws In 2023 Through Stepped-Up Enforcement
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) announced yesterday it collected more than $25 million from toll evaders in 2023, an increase of 14 percent over 2022. The number of summonses police issued for toll-related violations spiked even more, up 28 percent over the previous year. About three-quarters of those 5,861 summonses were for license plate violations. The authority attributed the improved enforcement results to “sharing toll evasion information with regional partners,” “enhanced toll enforcement efforts with increased targeted patrols,” and “streamlined and improved internal data collection.” It said it also “leveraged various types of license plate reader systems across a spectrum of roadway infrastructure and police technology to catch evaders.” The PANYNJ news release includes a list of the ten “toll cheats” ordered to pay the largest civil judgments obtained by the authority in 2023. In addition to civil litigation, repeat offenders risk seeing their registrations suspended or vehicles impounded.
NBC New York and The Trucker covered this news and paid special attention to the list of worst offenders. Eight of the ten named — including the trucking company that tops the list — are New Jersey individuals or companies.
Washington Commission Schedules Final Express Lane Toll Adjustment Hearing
The Washington State Transportation Commission announced it will hold a virtual public hearing next Monday, January 29, on the proposal to adjust the minimum and maximum toll rates and expand the hours of operation on the I-405 express toll lanes and the State Route 167 high occupancy toll lanes. Opportunities for public comment are described in the announcement. Commissioners are expected to take a final vote during the meeting. “The proposal would raise the minimum rate toll rate on the SR 167 high occupancy toll lanes from 50 cents to $1 and the maximum toll rate from $9 to $15. It would raise the minimum toll rate on the I-405 express lanes from 75 cents to $1 and the maximum toll rate from $10 to $15. Tolling hours of operation for both facilities would be extended by one hour, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.” New rates, if approved, are expected to take effect on March 1, 2024.
Additional information about the rate setting proposal process is available on a commission web page.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) ETC Systems Express Lanes I-405 and SR 167 Express Lanes (WSDOT) Seattle Metro Area Toll Rate Changes Washington State Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)MTA Official: Congestion Pricing Lawsuits Risk Delaying Major Transit Upgrades
Bloomberg (via Yahoo! Finance) reports, “A long-awaited $7 billion plan to extend New York City’s Second Avenue Subway to Harlem needs congestion pricing revenue to avoid being sidelined.” Yesterday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) “awarded a $182 million contract to relocate underground utilities and make way for future construction [of the Q Line extension],” but the agreement won’t be executed until MTA resolves several pending lawsuits to block congestion pricing implementation, scheduled to occur this year. “It’s very important that we get through the unfortunate challenges to congestion pricing, which is going to allow a lot of critical projects to proceed on schedule,” MTA official Jamie Torres-Springer told reporters. “We’re pretty confident and optimistic that the courts are going to find that the MTA followed an appropriate process and be able to proceed.” The article notes that congestion pricing uncertainty is already delaying a $1.3 billion MTA project to upgrade signals on two major subway lines. (TRN inserted a link in quoted text.)
Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports Congestion Pricing Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New Jersey New York New York City Transit and Toll RoadsDubai Considers Shifting Salik Toll System To Dynamic Pricing
The National reports, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) continues to consider transforming the Salik toll system to dynamic pricing, at both its existing toll points and the two new ones RTA announced will be open by November. The agency reportedly has been considering the pricing strategy since September 2022. “Tariffs could also be adjusted depending on traffic conditions, the number of people in each vehicle and the type of model being driven, one expert said.” Drivers currently pay a flat rate of AED 4 (1 USD) at each toll gate. It’s expected that Dubai’s population may nearly double in the next two decades, prompting RTA to proactively use tolling to change mobility behaviors in an effort to avoid worsening traffic congestion.
Khaleej Times covers this story in slightly more detail. RTA’s latest statement on dynamic pricing was a response to social media posts by a prominent lawyer who recommends implementing both dynamic pricing and congestion pricing around the central business district to encourage more people to use public transit. “In response, the RTA said it is open to implementing these suggestions based on its studies.” An unscientific poll conducted by the newspaper showed that a majority of respondents would be swayed toward using public transit were tolling to increase.
TransCore designed, built, operates and maintains the Salik system for Dubai.
Congestion Pricing Dubai UAE ETC Systems Salik Toll Collection System TransCore Transit and Toll Roads United Arab Emirates (UAE)These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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