Daily News Briefs, September 9, 2024

Kansas Turnpike Fine-Tunes New ETC System And Continues Helping Customers Adapt

KSNT reports, DriveKS, the new Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) cashless, open-road toll system, has been operating smoothly since July 1, but that doesn’t mean KTA staff are resting on their oars. Rachel Bell, director of marketing, communications and business strategy, says, “This conversion is a big change for everyone so we’re working to help customers however we can while educating on new processes and tools. And, we’re still fine-tuning the system to increase efficiency.”

In the article, Ms. Bell addresses four facets of the new operation that some customers find difficult to understand. Not surprisingly, they include the change from trip to transaction tolling; the reason some ETC account holders get video toll bills and what they can do to prevent them; and KTA’s adoption of a daily billing cycle. Bell acknowledges that KTA phone lines are busy these days, and she suggests customers become familiar with the variety of inquiry and support options — mobile app, website, and walk-in center — KTA has initiated to supplement telephone service.

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Obsolete Lincoln Tunnel Toll Plaza Called "World’s Biggest Traffic Calming Device"

NJ.com reports, although the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) eliminated cash toll collection at the Lincoln Tunnel in December 2022, the facility’s Weehawken, New Jersey, toll plaza still stands. A PANYNJ spokesperson says construction plans and an unspecified schedule for the plaza’s removal “is currently in development.” Meanwhile, “signs have been posted on the vacant toll booths telling drivers to keep moving through the . . . toll plaza, which seems to be serving as the world’s biggest traffic calming device as vehicles slow to go through the narrow lanes.”

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Toll Evader-Ghost Car Enforcement Incident Endangers Police And Three Women

A Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) news release details in text and video the risks that both accompany and justify police task force operations to catch New York City toll evaders and “ghost car” drivers. Last Wednesday, September 4, an SUV driver made a dangerous but unsuccessful attempt to prevent officers from stopping him during an operation at the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. After endangering police by crashing through their roadblock, the 33-year-old man’s vehicle was stopped by patrol cars. It was determined that, among other issues, the man’s driver’s license had been suspended seven times, the SUV bore a fraudulent Georgia paper license plate, the vehicle’s identification number is suspect, the driver has registration suspensions for unpaid toll violations and parking judgments, and the vehicle’s inspection certificate and insurance coverage had expired. Officers also learned that the man is wanted by NYPD for allegedly committing a recent domestic assault. Adding to the gravity of the incident, police found the driver was operating as a medical transport service and had three women passengers — two of them elderly — in his vehicle while trying to evade apprehension. The women, who were traveling from the suburbs to medical appointments in the city, were extremely frightened, but escaped with minor injuries. Two officers received injuries trying to take the driver into custody.

According to a separate MTA news release, the results of three other toll evasion and ghost car task force operations are in. On August 19, August 24, and August 30, officers deployed at either the Bronx-Whitestone or Verrazzano-Narrows Bridges. They made a total of 18 arrests, impounded more than 130 vehicles, and issued more than 1,500 summonses. Impounds were made for suspended registrations, unpaid tolls, unregistered vehicles, and suspended licenses, among other violations. MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Catherine Sheridan commented, “Our Bridge and Tunnel Officers have worked with our regional partners to make it abundantly clear that the use of ghost plates to avoid paying tolls will not be tolerated.”

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IBTTA Announces Award Program Recipients

IBTTA today announced the winners of its 2024 Toll Excellence Awards and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Awards, which “celebrate innovation and the advancement of best practices within the tolling and user-based transportation financing sector.” The Toll Excellence honorees are:

• Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) (Administration and Finance category) for the I-405 Improvement Project and 405 Express Lanes
• Illinois Tollway Authority (Customer Service and Marketing category) for I-PASS Assist, an equity-focused customer enrollment initiative
• Indra USA, Inc. (Private Sector Innovation category) for 66 Express Outside the Beltway
• Colorado Transportation Investment Office (CTIO) for CTIO Express Lanes Safety Enforcement Program
• Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (Social Responsibility category) for the Gordie Howe International Bridge project
• North Carolina Department of Transportation and Turnpike Authority (Technology category) for Back Office System 2 Using Cloud Technologies and APIs
• Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) (Toll Operations, Engineering and Maintenance category) for East Selmon Slip Ramps

Recognized with DEI awards were:

• 407 ETR Concession (Public Sector category) for its strategic DEI Program
• Dewberry Engineers, Inc. (Private Sector category) for its IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility) program

The awards will be formally presented during the association’s annual meeting in Cleveland next month.

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

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