CEO of Worldwide Transportation Association Talks All-Electronic Tolling

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
CONTACT: Kristofer Eisenla, Luna Eisenla Media
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Future of Safe and Reliable Mobility

WASHINGTON, DC – As toll facilities from California to Massachusetts transition to All-Electronic Tolling (AET), Patrick Jones, Executive Director and CEO of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), the worldwide association representing toll facility owners and operators and the businesses that serve them, today participated in a discussion about the benefits of All Electronic Tolling. The conference, Using Technology to Improve Transportation: All-Electronic Tolling and Beyond, gathered transportation experts from Maine, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, DC, to share and discuss with Massachusetts and Boston transportation officials new technologies being used to provide more efficient, less congested and safer infrastructure systems.

“All-electronic tolling has revolutionized mobility in ways never imagined before,” said Jones. “Stopping at a toll booth and tossing coins into a basket is a thing of the past. Current technology allows vehicles to pass under gantries at highway speeds without stopping. It not only eases congestion, but also provides safe and reliable mobility for users.”

Mike Heiligenstein, Executive Director, Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority and First Vice President of IBTTA said, “The express purpose of creating all electronic toll roads in central Texas was to implement innovative, multi-modal transportation solutions that reduce congestion and create transportation choices that enhance quality of life and economic vitality.”

Jones further stated, “It is a crisis moment for America’s roadways, tunnels and bridges – and it’s precisely during these crunches, American ingenuity and creativity have paved the way to a silver lining. Throughout the country – in more than 30 states – IBTTA is seeing new, creative transportation funding solutions taking place right before our eyes. The iconic Golden Gate Bridge went all electronic on March 27, 2013. Boston’s Tobin Memorial Bridge will begin a pilot program using electronic tolling a year from now, spring 2014.” Jones also spoke of a recent blog post he wrote for InfrastructureUSA highlighting local authorities utilizing AET.

The conference was hosted by Harvard Kennedy School’s Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston and cosponsored by the Center for Strategic Studies (Northeastern University D'Amore-Kim School of Business) and the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Service (Suffolk University Law School).

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The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) is the worldwide association representing toll facility owners and operators and the businesses that serve them. Founded in 1932, IBTTA has members in more than 20 countries on six continents. Through advocacy, thought leadership and education, members are implementing state-of-the-art, innovative user-based transportation financing solutions to address the critical infrastructure challenges of the 21st century. For more information, visit www.IBTTA.org or join us on Twitter @IBTTA or #TollRoads.