TCA Boards of Directors Approve Ordinance for FasTrak® Account Changes Effective July 1, 2019
The Boards of Directors for the San Joaquin Hills (SJHTCA) and Foothill/Eastern (F/ETCA) Transportation Corridor Agencies heard a second reading of and voted to approve ordinances to align with the customer account changes included as part of the “6C Transition and Account Simplification” initiative.
Beginning July 2019, TCA will issue new sticker transponders for electronic toll collection. The new FasTrak sticker transponder will be approximately the size of an adhesive bandage. With the introduction of the new technology, The Toll Roads will be eliminating the FasTrak monthly account maintenance fee; providing all accountholders with access to every tolled bridge, lane and road in California; introducing an updated discount program for prepaid FasTrak accountholders; and providing free FasTrak sticker transponders to all 1.3 million TCA accounts.
Tolling Equipment Approved for Oso Parkway Bridge Project
The Oso Parkway Bridge Project – currently under construction by the County of Orange – consists of extending the 241 Toll Road under Oso Parkway to provide direct access to/from the recently opened Los Patrones Parkway. The existing on- and off-ramps from the 241 Toll Road to Oso Parkway are tolled. To ensure seamless travel and toll equity, the F/ETCA Board of Directors approved an amendment with TransCore to install and test new mainline tolling equipment on the 241 Toll Road just north of Oso Parkway. TransCore will install new overhead antennas, in-pavement loops and camera equipment that will span two northbound and two southbound lanes of the 241 Toll Road. The Oso Parkway Bridge Project is expected to be complete in the summer of 2020.
Streetlight Data Annual Subscription Renewed to Support Planning
TCA’s Boards of Directors approved the first year of a two-year extension option to renew its subscription to the StreetLight InSight online application tool. Using StreetLight helps the Agencies better understand travel characteristics and behavior of vehicles in and around Orange County and The Toll Roads to support future capital project needs, communication opportunities and policy decisions. StreetLight is a cost-effective tool to review and analyze anonymous travel data such as origin/destination, route choices and travel time to provide travel characteristics and travel behavior. The subscription provides data for vehicles that start, end or pass through Orange County with an additional 10-mile buffer beyond the county line. During the first year, staff conducted several origin-destination, route choice and travel time analyses for the 73 and 241 Toll Roads.
SJHTCA and F/ETCA Fiscal Year 2018 Audited Financial Statements Approved
KPMG completed the annual audits of the Agencies’ financial statements and concluded that the financial statements for the SJHTCA and F/ETCA were presented fairly, in all material respects, and the changes in the financial positions and cash flows were stated in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. After the report of required communications by Chris Ray, KMPG partner responsible for the audits, the FY18 financial statements were approved.
Transactions and Revenue Increase in September
Transactions and revenue increased in September for both Agencies, compared to September 2017. Transactions increased by 0.3 percent and revenue increased by 2.3 percent for the 73 Toll Road. On the 133, 241 and 261 Toll Roads, transactions increased by 0.1 percent and revenue increased by 2.5 percent. Collectively, the Agencies processed more than 8.2 million transactions in September 2018.
