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TCA Boards Seat New Members, Review Early Paydown Of Bond Debt

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The Transportation Corridor Agencies boards welcomed some new members during their joint February meeting:

  • William Go, an Irvine city councilmember joined both the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency and Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency boards.
  • Yorba Linda Mayor Janice Lim was seated on the Foothill/Eastern board.
  • Erica Pezold, a Laguna Hills city councilmember became a San Joaquin Hills agency director.

During the meeting, CEO Ryan Chamberlain briefed directors on the San Joaquin Hills agency’s recent early paydown of $200 million in junior lien bond debt. The action, which involved bonds issued in 2014 that had maturity dates of 2044 and 2049, saved the agency approximately $203 million in future interest payments.

Duffy Is “100%” Open To Some Form Of Congestion Pricing

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New York Post editors and readers must be shaking their heads.

Earlier this week, the newspaper, a dedicated foe of MTA congestion pricing, was celebrating USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s decision to reverse FHWA approval of the tolling program. So, imagine the consternation created by an article published today that Duffy thinks congestion pricing may not be such a bad idea and he’s open to some form of the system, not just the one New York Governor Hochul approved.

“The transportation secretary’s remarks leave the door open for tolls, which President Trump had declared “dead” in an all-caps social media post this week, ending with ‘LONG LIVE THE KING!’” the Post reports. “Duffy’s avowal that congestion pricing could be saved could add to the confusion experienced by New York commuters this week, in part stemming from his own letter Wednesday announcing he’d pull federal approval.”

Trump Renews Tariff Threats, Increasing Trade War Risks

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Transport Topics reports, President Trump and his economic advisers are signaling that the administration is intent on using tariffs as means of generating federal government revenue, not just as leverage in bilateral trade negotiations. Yesterday, in comments to reporters and a presidential social media post, they “talk[ed] up the lengthening list of tariffs that Trump has rolled out or threatened,” including the postponed imposts on goods from Canada and Mexico. Trump’s motive is to ensure congressional approval of major tax cuts by  maximizing revenue receipts.

According to many experts, the president’s proposals would upend decades of US trade policy. They also come with risks of consumer price increases, an economic slowdown, and trade wars. Some economists also warn that the consequences of pursuing a long-term high-tariffs policy would actually lead to a decline in government revenue.

The New York Times, The Washington Post, BNN Bloomberg and Reuters report on recent US tariff policy developments and the anticipated consequences.

Philippine DOT Secretary Halts Transition To Cashless Tolling

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Philippine Daily Inquirer reports, as his first official act, the new Philippines Transportation Secretary, Vivencio “Vince” Dizon, suspended a national toll agency directive that required all expressway operators to implement cashless toll collection in March. After being sworn in today, Dizon announced that the nation’s tollways would not go cashless for the foreseeable future. He maintains that the electronic toll system still needs to be “perfected” to eliminate technical issues, such as transponder detection failures. Dizon also characterized all-electronic tolling as “anti-poor” because financially stressed motorists lack the time to replenish their accounts. “The need to regulate should not result in making the lives of people difficult,” Dizon said. “I think this cashless thing is torture, so I don’t believe in it.”

ABS-CBN News also covers this story.

The Philippine Toll Regulatory Board issued its AET transition directive last Friday, February 14, in the interest of facilitating traffic flow at expressway toll points. The Philippines has a history of unsuccessful attempts to implement cashless collection.

Cape May County, NJ, Bridges Will Go Cashless May 10

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OCNJ Daily reports, yesterday, the Cape May County (New Jersey) Bridge Commission, operator of five seashore toll bridges, announced that its transition to cashless toll collection will take place on May 10. The agency decided last September to convert to all-electronic tolling as an efficiency and cost-saving measure. About 90 percent of its transactions are already processed through E-ZPass. Although the commission will no longer need toll collectors, it plans to retain about a dozen of those employees as part-time drawbridge tenders.

A commission official noted that the contractual date for conversion to AET was originally April 1, but Conduent, the New Jersey E-ZPass vendor, recently rescheduled it citing work in progress on other projects.