- States And Cities Take Action To Eradicate "Ghost Plate" Use
- New Study Asserts Urban Road Construction Expenditures Outweigh Benefits
- India's Highways Agency Intensifies Toll Collection System Oversight
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
This is a Subscribers-Only area. If you are a subscriber, please login. If not...
Become a Subscriber Today »
States And Cities Take Action To Eradicate "Ghost Plate" Use
Stateline reports, Tennessee and Pennsylvania are among the states looking to step up their fight against “ghost plates” — hidden or obscured vehicle licenses — and license plate flippers. While their impetus is often related to criminal law enforcement, authorities also are looking for ways to crack down on toll evasion and speeding. Obstructing a license plate already is generally illegal nationwide, but Texas and Washington State took action in 2013 to strengthen prohibition. More recently, a Tennessee law prohibiting the “purchase, sale, possession of and manufacture of plate flippers” took effect in July, and the Pennsylvania Senate is considering similar legislation already passed by the House. The article also mentions municipal legislation in Philadelphia and New York City.
New York City reached an agreement with Amazon for the online retailer to do its part to restrict license plate cover sales to addresses in the state. Stateline also spotlights the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey crackdown on motorists with obscured, concealed and fraudulent plates. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission told Stateline, “While the percentage of intentional plate obstruction on the turnpike is very, very small, we are grateful for any additional support and legislation that helps us address toll evasion.”
Democrat & Chronicle covers heightened enforcement statutes that took effect in New York State on September 1.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) Crime Beat Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New Jersey New York New York City Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) Philadelphia PA Metro Area Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) Scofflaws Tennessee Texas Washington StateNew Study Asserts Urban Road Construction Expenditures Outweigh Benefits
Bloomberg CityLab reports, research published last month in the “Journal of the American Planning Association” led to a finding that new road infrastructure in urban areas in the US costs up to three times more than its potential economic value. Lead author Dr. Erick Guerra, associate dean of research at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weitzman School of Design, maintains, “We’re stuck in this process of building more highways and widening roadways even though the economic justifications aren’t there anymore.” Focusing on 316 US cities that collectively account for about 80 percent of the country’s population, the researchers calculated direct spending on new urban roadways, as well as the indirect costs of pollution and traffic deaths and the opportunity costs of using property for roads. When accounting for direct spending alone, the study determined that roadway costs exceed benefits by 17 percent. While acknowledging some disagreement on how to quantify land use, the authors concluded that reducing the footprint of roads by 10 percent would result in a net benefit of almost $28 billion per year, assuming property were used instead for purposes such as housing, retail, transit or bike lanes. (CityLab does not relate how, if at all, the research addresses the impact on urban mobility of reducing road construction.)
Economic & Social Considerations Affecting Transportation Environmental Protection Policies Procedures And Initiatives Transportation and Infrastructure Research & DevelopmentIndia's Highways Agency Intensifies Toll Collection System Oversight
The Financial Express reports, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Indian Highway Management Company LTD (IHMCL) are taking action to curtail fraud and ensure compliance with toll collection rules and policies. Measures include:
- conducting several types of toll collection record audits;
- establishing a web portal — the Toll Management and Control Centre (TMCC) — to enable “real-time monitoring of transaction details at fee plazas, allowing for continuous oversight of lane operations and quick identification of any discrepancies;” and
- appointing “nodal officers” — government monitoring agents– to oversee lane-level operations at toll plazas.
The agencies also see their development and testing of GNSS-based technology as a contribution to improving the efficiency and integrity of toll collection.
ETC Systems India Information Technology Resources and Acquisitions National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
If you’re not already a Daily News Briefs subscriber and you want a complete picture of today’s news, click here or call 717-991-2823 for subscription information. If you’re a newcomer to TollRoadsNews.com, click here.