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MTA Collected Nearly $52 Million In Congestion Zone Tolls In February

On Monday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that February congestion pricing program toll revenue was $51.9 million and net income after expenses was $40.4 million. “This keeps the program on track to provide the $500 million that was initially projected,” MTA noted.

The announcement includes a breakdown of the revenue stream by vehicle category and tolling period. Sixty-six percent of the tolls were collected from passenger vehicles and 95 percent during the peak tolling periods (5:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Monday through Friday, and 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday). “Expenses from the program including operating camera infrastructure and customer service amounted to $9.5 million. Combined with another $2 million for [environmental] mitigation efforts, expenses totaled $11.5 million.” MTA posted a link to a March 24 staff presentation on February program revenue.

During the program’s previous (and first) month of operation (from January 5-31, 2025), toll revenue was $48.66 million, expenses amounted to $11.1 million, and net income was $37.5 million, MTA reported.

Louisiana Expects Belle Chasse Bridge Tolling To Begin Next Week

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) announced Tuesday that electronic tolling of the recently completed Belle Chasse replacement bridge is expected to begin on April 2. Since LADOTD is completing its final inspections, the start date is subject to change. The department is encouraging bridge customers to open a GeauxPass account, which can also be used to pay tolls on the LA 1 expressway, the only other state-controlled tollway in Louisiana. Residents of Plaquemines Parish outside New Orleans must use GeauxPass to qualify for a discounted passenger vehicle toll rate. An image of the bridge’s toll rate chart is embedded in the news release.

NOLA.com’s report on the tolling announcement notes that tolls will be collected in both directions. Charges will range from 25 cents — the Plaquemines Parish resident rate — to $8.67 for a class 3 vehicle longer than 35 feet without GeauxPass. The standard class 1 toll rate paid by drivers without GeauxPass will be $2.26 per crossing.

A separate NOLA.com article looks at the GeauxPass system, the Belle Chasse opening, and the state’s only other tolled facilities, LA 1 and the locally controlled Lake Pontchartrain Causeway.

Mid-April Opening Projected For CTRMA 183A Toll Extension

KVUE reported that the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA) is poised to open the 5.3-mile 183A Toll Phase III extension between Leander and Liberty Hill by mid-April, according to a project discussion that occurred during the March 26 monthly meeting of the authority board. An early 2025 opening had been projected until Lane Construction encountered some setbacks. CTRMA issued the extension project’s notice to proceed in March 2021.

CTRMA engineering director Mike Sexton briefed board members on the project. See slides 42-48 of the board meeting presentation for further information.

At the board’s February meeting, member David Singleton expressed his frustration with completion delays and criticized Lane’s estimations of progress. Lane wasn’t represented at the meeting, which was another concern for Singleton. Earlier this week, KVUE sought a comment from the company about the project timeline but did not get a response.

New Bill Would Allow California Agencies To Participate In Interoperability Programs

During their March joint meeting, the boards of the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) unanimously voted to support a new California Assembly bill (AB 334) that would permit a state toll facility operator to make its system nationally interoperable.

A TCA news release (scroll down to “Assembly Bill . . .”) explains that the measure amends current statutory limits on interstate sharing of toll transaction information that prevent California operators from participating in national interoperability projects. The bill would allow TCA and other agencies “to share only the essential data required for interstate interoperability without compromising the privacy and security of customers” and “provide drivers with the convenience and choice of paying tolls at facilities throughout the U.S. by utilizing their home toll account.”

According to the California legislature’s website, the bill is moving through Assembly oversight committees. A March 21 Transportation Committee memorandum provides a detailed analysis of the bill.

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These are a few of the toll industry developments TRN covered last week. If you’re not a subscriber to Daily News Briefs, click here for a free, 14-day trial. Read the news as it happens every weekday.

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NJ Turnpike Board Took Action, Heard More Public Comment On $11 Billion Widening Program

At its March 25 meeting, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority(NJTA) board unanimously approved five actions to advance the start of the controversial, $11 billion Newark Bay Hudson County Extension Improvements Program. As reported by North Jersey.com, it approved:

• an agreement with New Jersey DOT to provide assistance with “review and approval of design plans, traffic operations and access to rights-of-way,” and a cooperation agreement with Hudson County regarding vocational and technical training programs and park maintenance
• a $5.2 million change order that increases the value of Gannett Fleming’s engineering services contract to $35.45 million
• the acquisition of riparian mitigation credits, and tidal open water and shallows mitigation credits from two companies

The program’s first phase — it involves the $6.2 billion replacement of obsolete bridges and ramps that carry the turnpike extension over Newark Bay —  will start later this year after NJTA awards contracts for construction of Newark Bay Bridge trestles, according to an NJTA spokesperson.

The article also summarized public comment for and against the program received by board members during the meeting. A number of speakers called on NJTA to pause program work until it can assess the impact MTA congestion pricing will have on regional transportation. Since the program’s January launch, significant traffic reductions have occurred in the PANYNJ tunnels connecting New Jersey and the Manhattan congestion zone. Nevertheless, NJTA’s spokesperson says there hasn’t been an appreciable impact on the turnpike approaches to the tunnels. The changes that have occurred, he noted, are consistent with MTA’s assessment that congestion pricing would have little or no environmental impact on the Newark Bay-Hudson County Extension.

Streetsblog NYC reported on pushback against the scope of the extension program and complaints that NJTA isn’t making current data relevant to the widening proposal available.

E-ZPass New York Website And App Upgrades Are Coming Next Month

Major redesigns and upgrades of the E-ZPass New York Service Center website and mobile app will take place next month, according to a joint announcement by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNY), and the New York State Thruway Authority. With the expected April 15 launch of the new resources:

• the E-ZPass and Tolls by Mail websites will be consolidated at e-zpassny.com
• a single customer service center telephone number (1-800-333-8655) will be activated
• Apple Pay and Google Pay will be accepted on both the app and website
• toll bills will have account reference numbers to expedite customer searching
• customers will have the option to message live agents during business hours
• the center’s Interactive Voice Response telephone system will have new “user-friendly self-service options”
• Tolls by Mail customers will have additional self-service options

According to the toll agencies, the upgrade’s overall effect will be to streamline customer service and enable viewing of “toll bills, transactions, and images” to increase account control by customers.

Transition to the new website and app will take place from 7:00 PM, Wednesday, April 9, through 11:59 PM, Monday, April 14. During that period, toll transaction processing will continue, but customers will not be able to view their accounts, make changes or pay tolls online, and all customer service telephone functions will be inactive. The agencies will make several accommodations to customer inconvenience, such as temporarily delaying late fee charges, extending Tolls by Mail due dates, and staggering the processing of transactions to prevent multiple account replenishments in a single day.

Additional information about the upgrades is available at the E-ZPass center website. Conduent is the contractual provider of customer services.

Newsday covers this story. It notes that the joint announcement does not address what prompted the updates or how much they cost. Spokespersons for MTA, PANYNJ, and the Thruway did not immediately respond to the newspaper’s questions. TRN notes that the Thruway authority’s FY 2025 budget included funding for “development of a new back-office system and a revamped website and mobile app for New York E-ZPass and Tolls by Mail customers.”

MTA Construction And Development Released A 5-Year Strategic Plan

On Tuesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Construction and Development unit released “Better. Faster. Cheaper,” a review of 2024 accomplishments and a 2025-2029 Strategic Plan.

The agency’s new five-year plan proposes $53 billion in project outlays. Although that amount is four percent lower in inflation-adjusted dollars than spending on the 2020-2024 strategic plan, MTA says it will actually deliver more and better results thanks to contracting savings achieved by the Construction and Development unit since it was created in 2020. (Much of the news release is dedicated to identifying planning and contracting efficiencies that yielded $3 billion in savings over the previous five years.)

As to its 2024 performance, the unit awarded $4.6 billion in commitments and completed $5.5 billion worth of projects. Disadvantaged business enterprises received $784 million in payments during 2024.

The news release also noted that the congestion pricing program has enabled Construction and Development to advance procurement on several critical projects, such as Communications-based Train Control signal modernization, additional ADA upgrades, and dual-mode locomotives for the Long Island Rail Road.

CTRMA Proposed Collaborative Study Of 290 Toll Extension

The study involves a proposal to “extend the [Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority’s tolled segment of US 290] roughly 13 miles, from just west of Manor into Elgin near southbound State Highway 95,” KVUE reported. During its March 26 meeting, the authority board voted to approve a work agreement with Bastrop County for the project’s environmental study and design. Since CTRMA’s jurisdiction only extends to the Bastrop County line, it needs the agreement to proceed.

CTRMA engineering director Mike Sexton reportedly told the board, “All we’re looking for in our agreement’s very simple, is to do the study and do the environmental report. We’re not asking for any funding from you, nor are we asking for the ability to do any construction.”

Additional information about the proposed extension can be found in an attachment to the board’s meeting agenda. It indicates that Bastrop County officials are already considering the agreement with CTRMA.

CFX Will Initiate Nighttime Cashless Collection

“If you are one of the few who still pays for tolls with change, you will soon need to ‘pay by plate’ or use a transponder on one Central Florida highway system, at least for nighttime travel,” WKMG reported. “Starting April 22, the Central Florida Expressway Authority [CFX] will no longer accept cash payments overnight between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.” About 98 percent of drivers already pay the agency’s tolls using its E-PASS electronic toll system or interoperable systems such as SunPass, according to CFX. Following the cashless transition, overnight travelers without transponders will be billed by mail.

Washington State Started Toll Rate-Setting Process Public Engagement

The Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) started public engagement processes related to two future toll policy and rate-setting determinations. One concerns SR 509 and SR 167 expressway tolling (which is referred to collectively as the Puget Sound Gateway Program). The other involves SR 99 Tunnel toll rates.

Puget Sound Gateway: An initial, one-mile segment of the SR 509 Expressway will see tolling begin this October. More tolled segments here and on SR 167 will open in stages from 2026 to 2030. Proposed options for variable toll rates “to support traffic management in the corridor and to meet financial requirements” are detailed on WSTC’s Gateway Program toll rate setting page. Public engagement from late March to early April is planned as an online open house and two virtual meetings. WSTC is due to choose its final proposal later in April, and it will hold a final hearing in June.

SR 99 Tunnel: A scheduled three-year, three-percent rate increase for the SR 99 Tunnel is coming up on July 1. A virtual meeting on the resulting rates is scheduled for ​​May 13-14. Further information can be obtained and comments can be submitted electronically via a WSTC toll rates and policies page.

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Canadian Conservatives Joined Calls For Confederation Bridge Toll Elimination

The Guardian reported, as Canada enters into a snap election campaign, the country’s Conservative Party has pledged to eliminate the roughly CAD 50 (USD 34.95) round-trip toll for crossing the Confederation Bridge connecting Prince Edward Island to the mainland. If returned to government, the party led by Pierre Poilievre would compensate for eliminating the toll by increasing payments to the bridge operator, VICINI subsidiary Straight Crossing Bridge LTD. The cost would be CAD 50 million (USD 34.95 million) per year until the government assumes full ownership of the facility in 2032. A party statement issued last week also promised to immediately review federal subsidies for the Wood Islands Ferry that services PEI’s eastern communities.

The Conservative Party’s announcement came quick on the heels of news that Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney made unspecified pledges to PEI leadership that they could expect “positive news” soon about the bridge toll and ferry rates.

Industry People Made News

The Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) announced that Tim Byrne, PE, has been appointed deputy CEO to replace Amy Potter, who is retiring after more than 20 years’ service with TCA as CFO and then deputy CEO. Ms. Potter will assist Mr. Byrne through a transition. Among other duties, Mr. Byrne will, under the direction of CEO Ryan Chamberlain, “oversee implementation of TCA’s Strategic Plan with concentration on long-term vision, policy development and execution.” He has more than 30 years’ experience in transportation planning and operations. Immediately before joining TCA, he was the director of tolling an express lanes for the San Bernardino County (California) Transportation Authority, where he oversaw the opening of the new I-10 express lanes.

Kapsch TrafficCom announced that Samuel Kapsch will become the firm’s chief operating officer and a member of the executive board on April 1. “As a representative of the fifth generation of the Kapsch family, he will assume responsibility for the areas of supply chain management, production, the Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions, the operational implementation of the strategy as well as marketing and communication.” Following graduation from business school, Mr. Kapsch worked in management consulting. In 2022, he became the Kapsch Executive Vice President responsible for the Latin America region, leading a team of more than 500 employees. “Under his leadership, the company has been able to further expand its presence in the region while significantly increasing operational efficiency. With his expertise and his visionary yet implementation-oriented approach, Samuel Kapsch has made a decisive contribution to the sustainable development of the mobility sector in Latin America.”

Transport Topics reported that President Trump has nominated Derek Barrs, a former chief of the Florida Highway Patrol, to serve as administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). “Barrs enters the nomination process with a lengthy background in transportation safety.” According to his LinkedIn profile and a Florida newspaper article, Mr. Barrs is currently an HNTB executive. His selection follows Adrienne Camire’s “brief and unexplained disappearance from the agency’s top post. . . . [She was] named acting administrator on March 7, [but] vanished from the agency’s leadership page less than two weeks later. By March 21, the Department of Transportation had removed a press release announcing her appointment and made no public comment about her departure. It is unclear whether she will return to her previous position as senior adviser [to the FMCSA acting administrator].”

WFAE reported that Charlotte, North Carolina, City Council member Tariq Bokhari (R) plans to resign and take the post of FTA deputy administrator. “Bokhari’s move to Washington has been a closely held secret. Though he does not generally engage in partisan politics from the City Council dais, he is often a disruptor — brainstorming unusual ways to tackle problems and holding forth with a sometimes brash persona that can clash with Charlotte’s usual go-along, get-along municipal politics.” Mr. Bokhari “often talks about the impact of self-driving cars as a form of transportation,” and, in 2021, he advocated that city officials meet with Elon Musk’s The Boring Company to explore tunneling as a solution to road congestion.

Half Of Massachusetts Poll Respondents Would Accept Tolls Or RUC In Place Of Gas Tax

State House News Service (via Telegram & Gazette) reported, “About half of Massachusetts residents backed phasing out the state’s gasoline tax and instead expanding roadway tolling or imposing fees based on mileage, according to a new poll that took the temperature on a range of transportation-related ideas.” About 30 percent of respondents indicated they oppose tolling or mileage-based user fee alternatives to fuel taxation. Massachusetts collected approximately $615 million in gas taxes during the 2024 fiscal year. (TRN inserted a link in quoted text.)

Another topic of the survey was congestion pricing and its early impact in metro New York City. “Asked if Massachusetts should study the use of congestion pricing in and around Boston, 48% said yes and 35% said no.”

The late February poll of about 700 Massachusetts residents was conducted by MassINC Polling Group on behalf of Transportation for Massachusetts, a reform coalition focused on addressing transportation system inequities. Both MassINC and Transportation for Massachusetts issued news releases on the survey results.

StreetsblogMASS reported on the poll’s overall findings and found it significant that MassINC provided detailed context on the questions.

Public and Shared EV Chargers Now Outnumber Gas Pumps In California

“Car and Driver” reported, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) recently announced that 178,549 public and shared private EV chargers have now been installed across the state. It’s estimated that an additional 700,000 Level 2 chargers are installed at single-family homes. That means California now has more charging units than gas pumps, according to a California Energy Commission estimate that the number of pumps is about 120,000.

Although most of the public and shared units are Level  2 chargers, there are now 16,500 of the fast-charging direct current variety at  public and shared sites. The state is continuing efforts to expand EV charging availability.

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