History and Facts About BATA, and Forthcoming Challenges ITS California Northern Section June 26, 2014 Carol Kuester Director, Electronic Payments
History and Facts About BATA, and
Forthcoming Challenges
ITS California Northern Section June 26, 2014 Carol Kuester
Director, Electronic Payments
∗ The Bay Area Toll Authority ∗ Created in 1997 to administer the base $1 auto toll on
seven state-owned bridges ∗ Empowered by the Legislature in 2005 to administer toll
revenue and provide joint oversight bridge construction with Caltrans and the CTC
∗ Manages and invests toll revenues, funds long-term capital improvements & rehab, oversees RM 1, RM 2, Seismic Retrofit Program
What is BATA?
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∗ Bridges
• Antioch • Benicia-Martinez • Carquinez • Dumbarton • Richmond-San Rafael • San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge • San Mateo-Hayward • Golden Gate Bridge (managed by GGB) ∗ Express Lanes
• I-680 Express Lane (managed by ACTC) • SR-237 Express Lane (managed by VTA) 3
Bay Area Toll Facilities
Annual Peak Period Lane Volumes
Bridge # of Staffed Lanes
# of ETC Lanes
Peak Period % ETC
Annual Traffic
SF Oakland Bay 9 11 82% 45 Million
Carquinez 8 4 65% 20.2 Million
Benicia-Martinez 9 3 (ORT) 70% 19 Million
San Mateo-Hayward 6 4 76% 17.5 Million
Richmond-San Rafael 4 3 70% 13.4 Million
Dumbarton 4 3 76% 10.8 Million
Antioch 1 2 55% 2.2 Million TOTAL 41 30 78% 128.1 Million
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∗ Consolidating to a Regional Customer Service Center
∗ Introducing Open Road Tolling
∗ Implementing time of day pricing and carpool tolls on San Francisco Bay Bridge
∗ Supporting all electronic tolling on Golden Gate Bridge
∗ Deploying a regional express lane network
Tolling to Achieve Policy Objectives
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Customer Service Centers 2003
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∗ Caltrans and Golden Gate Bridge operated independent customer service centers
Caltrans Customer
Service Center
Caltrans 7 Toll
Bridges
GGB Customer
Service Center
Golden Gate
Bridge
Interoperable Data Exchange, Fund Settlement
Single Customer Service Center
7
BATA Regional Customer
Service Center
SFO Parking
MTC Express Lanes (2016)
Golden Gate Bridge
VTA SR 237 Express Lanes
ACTC I-680 Express Lanes
BATA 7 Toll
Bridges
∗ BATA Regional Customer Service Center supporting multiple toll and parking facilities
Customer Service Center
• Call Center • Walk In • Voice Response System • Web • Account Management • Toll Tag Mailout • Process Payments • Handle Disputes • Generate Statements
• Tag Inventory • Transaction Processing • Financial Management • Credit Card Billing • Tag ID File to Lane • Reconciliation Files • Agency $ Settlement • Violation Processing • Send Violation Notices
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9 Total weekday peak-period FasTrak usage = 78%
FasTrak Account Growth
-
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Regional Toll Collection Policy Change
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Purpose Influence congestion patterns by changing driver behavior
July 1, 2010 Policy Change • All Bay Area bridges increased tolls • Congestion pricing introduced on the
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge • Implemented carpool toll requirements
Commute into San Francisco (WB)
Source: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/images/revenue/webinar_033011/033011_image001.jpg
Prior carpool rules • Carpool definition generally 3+ • Free in commute periods
New carpool fare • State owned bridges $2.50 • Golden Gate Bridge $3.00
New rules to qualify as carpool • Requires FasTrak use • Travel in designated carpool lanes only
New Carpool Rules
13 Source: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/New-bridge-tolls-shake-up-casual-carpool-market-3255827.php#photo-2405069
Bay Bridge Congestion Pricing
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Bay Bridge Auto Toll
• Weekday Peak: $6
• Weekday Off Peak: $4
• Weekends: $5
• Other state owned bridges: $5
All Electronic Tolling (AET) -Golden Gate Bridge-
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Cash collection removed from the Golden Gate Bridge toll plaza in March 2013
• Toll collection methods — License plate image used to bill the
registered vehicle owner — FasTrak tag
• Introduced new payment options — Image based license plate accounts — Cash payment kiosks at retail locations
• Other Bay Area bridges will be studied
AET Challenges
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On-going education for casual users • Visitors/Tourists
― Rental car agreements
Managing multiple brands • Delivering different business rules
seamlessly • Balancing independence with regional
consistency
Express Lane Network Phase I
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Two express lanes operating today • I-680 southbound • SR-237 More facilities coming • I-580 • Regional network including
• HOV conversion • Bridge approaches
Three agencies delivering lanes
Growing the Express Lane Network
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Multiple Express Lane Operators in Regional Network • 550 miles planned • Business rules & policies • Infrastructure • Public facing points of contact
Regional Messaging to Users • What is it?, How do I use it?, How
much does it cost?
Looking Forward
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How can BATA best relieve congestion and improve efficiency of toll collection? ∗ Increase use of FasTrak® & convert staffed
bridge toll lanes to dedicated FasTrak lanes ∗ Consider expanding all electronic tolling ∗ Support Express Lane network deployment ∗ Educate customers and provide responsive
customer service