- Fitch Foresees US Transportation Sector Stability In 2024
- BNSF Announces Iowa Toll Bridge Rate Increases
- Indian Police Arrest Bold Operators Of Illegal Toll Plaza
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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Fitch Foresees US Transportation Sector Stability In 2024
Fitch Ratings issued its 2024 North American Transportation Infrastructure Outlook this morning. In a news release on the report, Fitch notes that next year “looks to be a less volatile year for U.S. transportation as the U.S. economy heads towards a possible slow down,” and “Fitch economists are calling for the U.S. economy to slow progressively in 2024 as higher interest rates and a deceleration in bank credit weigh on consumer spending and private investment.” Senior Director Seth Lehman says the rating agency will be closely watching trends in the overall economy, since “[s]tickiness in inflation driving higher operating costs and either weaker operating income or further pressures to pricing to end users, could drive a negative sector outlook.” That said, it’s expected credit conditions and volume will remain largely stable. Lehman observes that US toll roads, airports and ports “have remained remarkably resilient in the face of a more volatile economy the last few years and are in a better fiscal position overall heading into 2024 as the operating environment has stabilized.” The ratings agency adds that transportation public private partnerships “remain highly relevant for project delivery and risk sharing, though construction period risks remain a lingering area of concern. “Some projects with material delays in completion dates or taking on upward cost adjustments have resulted in challenges with grantors to resolve differences and could result in negative rating actions,” Lehman commented.
Economic & Social Considerations Affecting Transportation Fitch Ratings Infrastructure Investment Trends Investment RatingsBNSF Announces Iowa Toll Bridge Rate Increases
WGEM reports, BNSF Railway announced yesterday it will hike toll rates for drivers using its Fort Madison, Iowa, road-rail bridge. Passenger vehicle tolls, currently $2.00, will rise to $3.00 on January 1, 2024, and $4.00 on January 1, 2025. Rates for other classes of vehicles will also increase in 2024 and 2025, according to a revised rate chart embedded in the article. BNSF officials stated that the increases, the first since 2012, are needed to meet current maintenance and operating costs. They noted that toll revenue is used exclusively to operate the bridge’s auto span.
Fort Madison Daily Democrat also covers this story.
Fort Madison (BNSF) Toll Bridge (Iowa) Illinois Iowa Toll Rate ChangesIndian Police Arrest Bold Operators Of Illegal Toll Plaza
The Times of India reports, police in India’s Gujarat state have broken up a scheme involving the operation of an illegal toll point adjacent to a national toll highway toll plaza operated by a private concessionaire. Five people, including the owner of a nearby failed ceramic factory, allegedly built an entry and exit to Highway 8A that was divided from the official Vaghasiya toll plaza by a wall. Motorists — mostly truckers — were permitted to bypass the toll plaza on entering or leaving the tollway by paying the offenders “some charges.” It is alleged that the toll plaza employees were threatened with death if they complained about the scheme. Police suspect that the illegal activity “was flourishing for at least a year.”
Crime Beat ETC Systems IndiaThese are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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