Daily News Briefs, March 23, 2020

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PANYNJ Suspends Cash Collection at GW Bridge and Tunnels

NJ.com reports, “Cash will temporarily no longer be accepted for tolls at the three Hudson River crossings between New York and New Jersey” — the George Washington Bridge, and the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels — “starting at 9 p.m. Sunday over coronavirus concerns, officials announced. Drivers who are used to paying the $16 toll in cash to a toll collector will instead be mailed a bill after their license plates are photographed, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement. Temporary signs will alert drivers of the change.” (TRN removed one link, inserted another.)

Highway and Bridge Safety (Including COVID-19 Impacts) New Jersey New York New York City Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ)

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Tolls on East Bay Express Lanes Are Temporarily Lifted

CBS News San Francisco Bay Area reports, the Alameda County Transportation Commission, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission acted jointly on Friday to suspend the collection of tolls on East Bay express lanes through at least April 7 in response to the drop in traffic resulting from COVID-19 mitigation measures. The agencies said other reasons for the decision were to avoid promoting carpooling at a time when social distancing is urgently required and to release police officers from toll enforcement for more urgently needed duties.

Alameda County Transportation Commission California Express Lanes Highway and Bridge Safety (Including COVID-19 Impacts) Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) San Francisco Bay Area (CA) Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)

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USDOT Modifies Trucking Regulations during the National Emergency

MetroWest Daily News reports that the COVID-19 epidemic is affecting the lives and work patterns of New England truck drivers in a variety of ways. In addition to changes caused by fluctuations in consumer demand, the article takes note of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s suspension of normal hours-of-service regulations for drivers transporting “emergency relief” products.”

Allied News reports that truckers pushed Pennsylvania officials to relax some of the service plaza and rest stop restrictions they initially imposed in response to the epidemic.

Highway and Bridge Safety (Including COVID-19 Impacts) US Department of Transportation (USDOT)

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SANRAL Cancels and Plans to Reissue Toll Management Contract

TechCentral reports that SANRAL, South Africa’s roads agency, “has cancelled the tender it issued in August last year for the continued management of e-tolls and claims it has not been informed of any decision by the government on the future of [Gauteng Freeway electronic tolls.]” Sanral confirmed that it intends to reissue the tender. The cancellation announcement follows confirmation earlier this month that SANRAL’s existing toll management contract with Electronic Tolling Collections (ETC) has been extended until December. Douglas Davey, ETC’s board chair, tells TechCentral that his firm did not submit a bid for the tender, but two stakeholders in the company (KapschTrafficCom being one of them) did submit a bid.

ETC Systems Kapsch South Africa South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL)

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These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.

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