NEWS...
Derry Township trucker charged with dodging $576000 in
tolls
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
DeLuca alleges in court documents that Wambold used an E-ZPass, stolen
from a New York trucking firm now in bankruptcy, to dodge $575980 in turnpike
tolls ...
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Proposal would bring tollbooths back to highways
Meriden Record-Journal - Meriden,CT,USA
He envisions high-tech tollbooths with most of the lanes reserved for an
E-ZPass system that would keep traffic flowing, he said, and not idling,
...
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Truck driver’s free ride is over
Daily American Online (subscription) - Somerset,PA,USA
Thomas Howard Wambold, 38, Hunter Road, was arraigned on charges Monday that he
was using a stolen E-ZPass to drive his tractor-trailer on the toll
highway. ...
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W.Pa. trucker accused of dodging $500K in tolls
York Daily Record - York,PA,USA
An Indiana County truck driver is accused of avoiding more than a half-million
dollars in tolls by using a stolen E-ZPass transponder. ...
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Study: Toll Transponders Hide Cost
of Tolling
MIT study shows electronic transponders make it easier for toll road
operators to raise rates.
Electronic transponders offer toll road operators an effective means of
disguising toll hikes, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology
economist Amy Finkelstein. Her study, published last December, showed how the
E-ZPass system creates what she described as an "EZ-Tax."
"I find robust evidence that toll rates increase following the adoption of
electronic toll collection," Professor Finkelstein wrote.
Economic theorists from John Stuart Mill to James Buchanan have argued that
disguising the true price of government activity fuels government growth far
beyond a level that would be acceptable to an informed citizenry. Finkelstein
used electronic toll collection to test this public choice theory against real
economic data.
Tolling provides a perfect test scenario, as motorists forced to toss coins into
a basket are informed citizens. They know exactly how much it costs to drive on
a cash-only toll road because the amount paid comes directly out of their
pocket. This is not the case with transponders. Electronic transfers from credit
card accounts can keep prices hidden until the monthly statement arrives.
Although E-ZPass, I-Pass and Fast-Trak provide a great convenience to drivers,
it comes at a price.
"Because the driver need no longer actively count out and hand over cash for the
toll, the toll rate may well be less salient to the driver when paying
electronically than when paying cash," Finkelstein explained.
To establish whether motorists using transponders knew how much they were paying
to use a road, the study used in-person and telephone surveys. Finkelstein, for
example, asked toll road users in Massachusetts, "What is your best guess of how
much you paid in tolls today on the Mass Pike on your drive here?" Sixty-two
percent of transponder users responded, "I don't know." Only two percent of cash
users gave that response.
"The primary finding is that electronic toll collection drivers are much less
aware of tolls than cash drivers," Finkelstein wrote. "This suggests that they
are likely to be less (rather than more) responsive in their driving behavior to
toll changes."
The finding is at odds with one of the main arguments in favor of congestion
pricing. Namely, that drivers will adapt their driving behavior as the toll
price changes to match levels of congestion.
The study looked next at toll collection records from 123 roads located
throughout the US, with each road provided an average of fifty years' worth of
data. Finkelstein noticed that adoption of electronic tolling methods increased,
so did rates. Specifically, when transponder usage hit the 60 percent mark, toll
rates skyrocketed between 20 and 40 percent over what they would have been in a
fully manual toll collection system, despite the lower operational costs
involved.
Finkelstein's data also show that cash toll hikes were 75 percent lower during
state election years. She suggested that this is the case because drivers paying
in cash know when they are being hit and operators are reluctant to impose an
extra financial burden during a period when lawmakers are most responsive to the
public. Operators have no such worry with transponders, as the data show no
slowdown in electronic toll hikes during election season.
Finkelstein concluded by suggesting topics for further inquiry.
"Evidence on what is done with the extra revenue from the higher tolls -- in
particular, whether it is used for purposes that may be valued by users of the
facility such infrastructure investment or reductions in other highways fees, or
whether it primarily serves to increase rents for the governing authority
through increased employment or salaries of bureaucrats -- could shed some light
on the normative implications of the higher tolls under electronic toll
collection," Finkelstein wrote. "Unfortunately, the available data are not
sufficient for analysis of this issue."
Putting a Price on Free Passes for MTA Board Members
New York Times - United States
By WILLIAM NEUMAN How much has a free E-ZPass account been worth to David
S. Mack, the vice chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who
...
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MTA honchos' trip toll: $30G in 1 year
New York Daily News - New York,NY,USA
The E-ZPass records, provided by the MTA in response to a Freedom of
Information Law request submitted by The News, begin to put a price tag to those
...
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E-ZPass Debate Has Ex-Board Member Furious
WCBS-TV New York - NY,USA
He served on the MTA board for 20 years, retiring just last month and getting
his free lifetime orange E-ZPass and cards to ride Metro North and the
subway. ...
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Free Rides Add Up for MTA Official
New York Times Blogs - New York,NY,USA
By William Neuman David S. Mack, a vice chairman of the MTA (Ozier Muhammad/The
New York Times) How much has a free E-ZPass been worth to David S. Mack,
...
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MTA To Rescind Free E-ZPass For Former Officials
WCBS-TV New York - NY,USA
... York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority will rescind free
E-ZPass tags for former board members and restrict the free use for
current members. ...
MTA Backs Down on Free E-ZPasses
New York Times - United States
By William Neuman The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will revoke free
E-ZPass tags and free subway, bus and commuter rail passes it has given to
its ...
NY attorney general: E-ZPass perks 'illegal'
Newsday - Long Island,NY,USA
By VERENA DOBNIK | AP Writer NEW YORK - Board members of the state's Thruway
Authority on Wednesday agreed to stop using the free E-ZPass vehicle tags
that ...
Indiana Toll Road First Private Member of E-ZPass
GRANGER, Ind., March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- ITR Concession
Company LLC (ITRCC) today announced that they are the first private company in
the country to be authorized for membership in the
E-ZPass Interagency Group. The
E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) approved
ITRCC as a Full Private Member. The IAG is the representative organization of
the 22 agencies currently offering E-ZPass
in 11 states.
The approval of ITRCC will allow the Indiana Toll Road to
offer its patrons a fully compatible electronic toll collection (ETC) system
with Illinois and states throughout the Middle-Atlantic and Northeast regions.
ITRCC plans to begin issuing transponders to its customers in May of this year.
Indiana Toll Road transponders will be accepted on all E-ZPass toll roads,
tunnels and bridges.
ITRCC is the first private company authorized as a Full
Private Member of the IAG. Several other toll roads are operated by private
companies, but their ETC systems are operated by public agencies. ITRCC operates
and maintains the Indiana Toll Road under a long-term agreement with the State
of Indiana. ITRCC is currently installing ETC on the Indiana Toll Road and plans
to manage and maintain the program internally. ITRCC intends to have the $40
million dollar ETC installation project completed by the end of this year.
Following the implementation of ETC, more than nine million E-ZPass customers
will be able to enjoy the efficiency and convenience of paying their tolls
electronically on the Indiana Toll Road.
"We are very proud to be the first private company to
receive approval as a member of the E-ZPass Interagency Group," said Fernando
Redondo, CEO of ITRCC. "We take very seriously our commitment to provide our
customers with the best service and transportation experience possible as
evident by our commitment to invest $40 million dollars this year for electronic
tolling collection in Indiana. The E-ZPass
membership will allow patrons traveling the Indiana Toll Road the efficiency and
convenience of paying their tolls electronically."
The current members of the E-ZPass system include: The
Maine Turnpike; New Hampshire Turnpike; Massachusetts Turnpike; Tobin Bridge;
the New York Thruway; the New York State Bridge Authority's bridges; the bridges
and tunnels of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the MTA Bridges
and Tunnels; the highways of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority; the Atlantic
City Expressway; the Delaware River bridges operated by the Delaware River Joint
Toll Bridge Commission, the Burlington County Bridge Commission, the Delaware
River Port Authority and the Delaware River and Bay Authority; the Delaware
Turnpike and SR 1; the Pennsylvania Turnpike; the roads, bridges and tunnels of
the Maryland Transportation Authority; five toll roads operating in conjunction
with the Virginia Department of Transportation; the West Virginia Turnpike; the
Peace Bridge; the Chicago Skyway and the highways of the Illinois State Toll
Highway Authority.
In operation since 1956, the Indiana Toll Road stretches
157 miles across the northernmost part of Indiana from Ohio to the Illinois
state line. It links Chicago with the largest cities on the eastern seaboard. It
also serves as the primary connecting route to the Chicago Skyway, a main route
to downtown Chicago. The Indiana Toll Road is managed by ITR Concession Company
LLC (ITRCC). ITRCC operates a safe and efficient toll road while providing the
highest quality customer service. ITRCC is indirectly owned by Macquarie
Infrastructure Group (MIG) and Cintra Concessiones de Infraestructuras de
Transporte, S.A. (Cintra), two of the worlds largest developers and managers of
infrastructure projects.
Source: ITR Concession Company
LLC
New York's E-ZPass Customer
Service Center Recognized for World-Class Customer Service
DALLAS, July 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Affiliated
Computer Services, Inc., (NYSE:ACS) , a premier provider of business process and
information technology outsourcing solutions, announced today that its New York
E-ZPass Customer Service Center received a "Certified Center of Excellence"
designation from BenchmarkPortal and the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at
Purdue University. ACS operates the call center for the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority-Bridges and
Tunnels, and the New York State Thruway Authority.
To earn the Center of Excellence designation, a call center
must meet objective, quantitative criteria and pass audits by BenchmarkPortal
researchers. Key drivers of successful call center performance in customer
service include operational efficiency, service level standards, process
management, customer satisfaction, leadership resources, and employee training.
This distinction places the E-ZPass Customer Service Center
in Staten Island, New York, among the top ten percent of call centers evaluated.
The certification required a rigorous review by BenchmarkPortal, repository of
the world's largest database of call center performance metrics.
In one of the certification audits performed by Purdue
University, E- ZPass' call center was described as "a superior organization,"
"an extremely well run center," and "one of the best run call centers." Michael
Huerta, ACS Managing Director of Transportation Systems and Services, said,
"This is a testament to the quality of the employees and managers of the center
and we are honored by this distinction."
ACS is the nation's leader in electronic toll collection,
handling more than 50 percent of the nation's electronic toll transactions,
processing over $2.4 billion in toll revenue and supporting more than ten
million customers annually.
About BenchmarkPortal
BenchmarkPortal is the custodian of the Purdue University
Center for Customer-Driven Quality database of contact center metrics, the
largest in the world. It provides reports, products, and services for contact
centers in the areas of operational metrics, customer satisfaction measurement,
and agent satisfaction measurement. BenchmarkPortal's Web site can be found at:
www.benchmarkportal.com
ACS, a FORTUNE 500 company with more than 50,000 people
supporting client operations in nearly 100 countries, provides business process
and information technology outsourcing solutions to world-class commercial and
government clients. The company's Class A common stock trades on the New York
Stock Exchange under the symbol "ACS." ACS makes technology work. Visit ACS on
the Internet at www.acs-inc.com .
The statements in this news release that do not directly
relate to historical facts constitute "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are
outside the Company's control. As such, no assurance can be given that the
actual events and results will not be materially different than the anticipated
results described in the forward-looking statements. Factors could cause actual
results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. For a
description of these factors, see the Company's prior filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent filing. ACS
disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future event, or otherwise.
Source: ACS, Inc.
