Like many of you, we’ll be taking a break over the next couple days, but we will post TRN Weekly Review on Sunday, and Daily News Briefs and TollroadsToday will return on Monday, December 2.
If you’re taking to the road over this long weekend, please travel safely.
The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA) is warning the public to beware of the smishing scam that’s plagued mobile phone users and toll operators throughout the US for months. Yesterday, text messages purporting to come from RITBA started circulating. The texts attempt to bilk recipients into paying a toll supposedly incurred during recent travel on “the Kansas toll road.” The messages link to a website that has a URL deceptively similar to RITBA’s actual E-ZPass website.
The authority advises customers to visit the authentic E-ZPass website if they wish to check their accounts and to report suspicious messages to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov. Customers can also forward suspicious text messages to 7726 (SPAM) to notify mobile providers.
The Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) collaborated on developing a pilot that is testing an innovative way for FHP to respond to reports of minor vehicle crashes on the CFX system. When a driver calls *347 (*FHP) to report a crash, the dispatcher will now assess the incident and determine whether it meets the criteria for the new “Desk Trooper Program.” If the crash is minor and the motorist agrees to use the program, secure interactive technology with remote interface capability will allow a trooper to view the scene virtually, evaluate the vehicle damage, and interview drivers and witnesses. The program “aims to decrease roadside risk, help clear incidents more efficiently, minimize traffic disruption and improve highway safety for all motorists,” according to a CFX news release. The agencies will gather feedback on the pilot over the next two years.
FHP Major Mark Castleberry commented “With the Desk Trooper program, we’re bringing advanced technology directly to the roads, improving safety and freeing up critical resources for higher-priority incidents. Motorists can now resolve minor crashes faster than ever, making our highways safer and more efficient for everyone.”
“Transport for London (TfL) has announced a plan to charge up to £4 [(USD 5.07)] to use the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels,” MyLondon reports. “In an announcement that went out yesterday (November 26), TfL set out a number of recommendations for discounts, exemptions and charges for the [two] tunnels ahead of the Silvertown Tunnel opening next Spring.” (TRN inserted and deleted links in the quoted text.)
If the tolling structure is approved by the TfL board at its December 4 meeting, motorcycles and most passenger vehicles signed up for TfL AutoPay would pay £1.50 (USD 1.90) per crossing at off-peak times. Rates would go up to £2.50 (USD 3.17) for motorcycles and £4 for passenger vehicles not using AutoPay during peak hours, which run weekdays from 6:00 to 10:00 AM and 4:00 to 7:00 PM.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the toll plan will ease traffic congestion and help manage vehicle pollution. He added that the proposed concessions, exemption, and discounts “will support Londoners in a variety of ways, including those on the lowest incomes, and help local residents take full advantage of the new bus and cycle connections.”
Time Out England also covers this news.
TfL began accepting public comment on the tolling proposal in July.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) announced that longtime MTC Commissioner “and full-time bon vivant” Jon Rubin died Sunday at his San Francisco home. He was 75.
Mr. Rubin served for 16 years as the San Francisco Mayor’s appointee to the MTC board. “Originally named to the position in 1995 by then-Mayor Frank Jordan, Mr. Rubin’s keen intelligence, deep understanding of transportation issues and mastery of diplomatic arts led to successive reappointment by mayors Willie Brown, Gavin Newsom and Ed Lee.” He served as MTC chair from 2005 to 2007. “A resolution of appreciation adopted by the Commission upon his 2011 retirement described him as a ‘consummate regionalist who put the Bay Area’s needs above parochial interests’ and noted that Mr. Rubin may be best remembered for his campaign to drop the word ‘transponder’ from the FasTrak™ program lexicon in favor of the more customer-friendly term ‘toll tag’” — a move born of his crusade for plain speaking and transparency in government.”
Mr. Rubin was also a documentary filmmaker. Works he produced and directed included a feature on the design and construction of the Bay Bridge’s new east span.