- Op-Ed: "Secret" Bank Card Transaction Fees Eat Into MTA's Toll And Fare Revenue
- Belle Chasse Bridge Tolling Start Is Delayed Again
- London's Silvertown Tunnel Opens
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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Op-Ed: "Secret" Bank Card Transaction Fees Eat Into MTA's Toll And Fare Revenue
In a New York Post op-ed column, Howard Husock of the American Enterprise Institute and Aaron Klein of the Brookings Institution team up to report on a data point the Metropolitan Transportation Authority normally keeps confidential: the “interchange fees” paid to financial institutions for every micro-transaction at the agency’s subway turnstiles and toll collection points.
“In its official budget, the MTA doesn’t list such costs as a separate line. Citing non-disclosure agreements, it won’t reveal its total interchange fee costs,” the column states. However, a February oral report to the MTA board revealed that $1 million of the agency’s $11 million operating costs for the first month of the congestion pricing program was spent on credit and debit card transaction fees. A spokesperson for MTA described the fee issue as “the next frontier of cost containment and affordability” and said the agency is “aggressively focused on it.”
The column notes that transaction fees are problematic for transportation agencies, parking meter operators, electric vehicle charging companies, and a host of retailers throughout the country. They are higher in the US than in Canada or the European Union. The authors call for a reevaluation of the US regulatory framework on fees. “Otherwise,” they write, “riders’ fares won’t be paying for upgrades and critical maintenance — but enriching private finance companies.”
Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports Congestion Pricing ETC Systems Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York New York CityBelle Chasse Bridge Tolling Start Is Delayed Again
“The start date is now scheduled for Thursday, April 10 but could change depending on final inspections and weather,” WDSU reports. “Contractors are completing the final details related to signage fabrication and delivery.”
TRN notes, tolling was previously set to start April 2, but has been pushed back twice since last week.
AET (All-Electronic Tolling) ETC Systems GeauxPass Louisiana Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) Plenary GroupLondon's Silvertown Tunnel Opens
Traffic Technology Today reports that Transport for London (TfL) opened the Silvertown Tunnel to drivers today. The article provides an overview of the facility’s P3 development and design, and addresses the London government’s rationale for imposing tolls.
BBC News covers the controversy over the start of toll collection on both the new GBP 2.2 billion (USD 2.8 billion) tunnel and the nearby historically free Blackwall Tunnel. The tolls are “a big change for east London” and the first road fees access imposed by London since the 2003 start of congestion pricing. TfL maintains the Silvertown Tunnel will relieve area congestion and traffic pressure on the obsolete Blackwall Tunnel. Critics argue the additional Thames River crossing will actually worsen congestion in East London, and contribute to air pollution in the process.
The Financial Times (subscription required) reports that the new bridge has triggered a UK debate over toll roads.
Environmental Protection Policies Procedures And Initiatives ETC Systems London Metro Region P3 & Privatization Transport for London (TfL) United KingdomThese are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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