Toll Collection Feasibility Study [PDF]

Zitiervorschau

One Penn Plaza New York, NY 10119 www.pbworld.com

THOUSAND ISLANDS BRIDGE TOLL COLLECTION SYSTEM UPGRADE FEASIBILITY STUDY Feasibility Study Report April 7, 2014

Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Table of Contents 1.

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................1

2.

EXISTING CONDITIONS ....................................................................................................................3

3.

ETC POLICIES..................................................................................................................................17

4.

MARKET SHARE AND THROUGHPUTS ........................................................................................21

5.

COST AND ALTERNATIVES EVALUATION ..................................................................................29

6.

NEXT STEPS ....................................................................................................................................38

Appendices A-1. DAILY AND HOURLY TRAFFIC DATA......................................................................................... 1-7 A-2. FISCAL YEAR TRAFFIC AND REVENUE REPORTS ............................................................... 8-13 A-3. ANNUAL BUDGET AND COST TO COLLECT......................................................................... 14-16 A-4. PATRON SURVEYS AND TOLL TAG STUDY............................................................................17-18 B-1. MARKET SHARE ESTIMATE - TABLES................................................................................... 19-23 C-1. THROUGHPUT ............................................................................................................................24-26 D-1. PROPOSED E-ZPASS INTERAGENCY MANDATORY POLICIES............................................27-28 D-2. PROPOSED E-ZPASS INTERAGENCY DISCRETIONARY POLICIES ................................... 29-31 E-1. COST ESTIMATE SUMMARY .....................................................................................................32-33 E-2. SYSTEM CAPITAL AND MAINTENANCE COST ESTIMATE................................................... 34-35 E-3. IAG MEMBERSHIP COST ESTIMATE ...................................................................................... 36-37 E-4. NYSTA CSC AGREEMENT COSTS........................................................................................... 38-39 E-5. CREDIT CARD FEE ESTIMATE ..................................................................................................40-41 F-1. TRMI System Proposal

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

1. Introduction The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority (TIBA) is in need of a new Toll Collection System (TCS) due to the current age, condition, and functional limits of the existing system. Accordingly, TIBA has begun the process for identifying the needs for a new TCS, as well as a process for developing a comprehensive implementation plan to replace and upgrade the existing system. TIBA’s current preference is to implement a new TCS with electronic toll collection (ETC) capabilities as part of an existing North American interoperable system. The overall process for converting to a new TCS with ETC includes the following phases: 1. Feasibility Study: This initial phase assembles sufficient information allowing TIBA to make an informed decision regarding a new TCS with ETC deployment based on an assessment of operator needs, policies, available systems and technologies, and associated potential costs, revenues and benefits. 2. Implementation Study: During this phase, the preferred TCS identified in the feasibility study is advanced into a final set of recommendations related to policies and business rules, traffic and revenue projections, border crossings considerations, technology, toll plaza equipment, as well as plaza design and operational considerations. 3. Procurement and Implementation: The final phase includes selecting a vendor for system design, installation, and integration. This may also include: preparing a Request for Proposals (RFP); entering into contracts/agreements for a customer service center (CSC) operator; coordinating membership with the E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG), assuming an E-ZPass system is chosen; and installation, integration, and testing of a new ETC system, business rules, marketing, and operations. This report summarizes the process and findings associated with the Feasibility Study and identifies next steps towards Implementation, including the preferred policy elements, estimates of costs and revenues, assessment of TIBA’s existing integrator’s proposed system upgrade, as well as recommendations associated with which North American interoperable systems to consider for interoperability. The results of this study will become the basis for potential future implementation and procurement documents (e.g. business rules, design documents, and/or testing plans. In addition, the results will guide policies and coordination efforts leading to potential compatibility with other systems such as the E-ZPass Group, or other North American interoperable toll systems. PURPOSE AND NEED The existing Toll Collection System (TCS) was designed, integrated, and installed in 1992 by The Revenue Markets Inc (TRMI). In 1999 the software was replaced to address Y2K concerns with software compatibility. The system is transaction based, as opposed to summary based, and keeps track of each vehicle’s data including number of axles, classification by collector, classification by system, toll expected, toll paid, payment method, currency, and weight (for commercial vehicles) . Having lasted 22 years, all components of the system (i.e. lane components, servers, system hardware and software) have served TIBA well, but have now become relatively obsolete and difficult to maintain. Hardware and software replacement components are difficult to find. The current software is outdated to the point where the TIBA, along with TRMI, are unable to get the appropriate vendor support for some issues. Reporting through the plaza administration program cannot be updated to address current

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

needs such as providing desired details regarding vehicle traffic, or provide functionality such as ability to add corrections when generating charge statements. Within the toll booth, there is no ability to add or adjust functions such as touch screens and drop down menus for charge transactions to improve efficiency. Cables and electrical wiring are antiquated and need to be replaced. The booths occasionally have power issues when at maximum power use, typically due to the added load of heat or air conditioning. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES The goals and objectives of upgrading the TIBA’s TCS include the following: • System Upgrade: Replace the existing system with a modern, robust, state-of-the-art system that will serve TIBA’s needs for the long term future, providing flexibility to integrate and evolve with the industry is paramount. This includes the ability to upgrade and add functionality that will provide ability to integrate with future North American interoperable systems in the United States and Canada. • North American Interoperability: The system should support US and Canadian policy desires for interoperable North American electronic toll collection -- seamlessly linking countries and regions. This will further support the TIBA’s goal of serving their local customers and tourist, by progressively maintaining their role as an economic support to the bi-national region by moving people, goods, and vehicles safely, securely, and efficiently. • Facilitate Bi-national Trade: The US and Canada share the largest bilateral flow of goods, services, people and capital of any two countries in the world. The system should include infrastructure and technology improvements, consistent with Federal, State, Provincial and regional policies/plans (i.e., I-81 Corridor, The National Policy for Strategic Gateways and Trade Corridors, etc.), maximizing the flow of bi-national commerce now and into the future where considerable growth is anticipated.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

2. Existing Conditions The Thousands Islands Bridges were opened in 1938 and consist of two suspension spans, one on each side of the border between US and Canada; and one road-level span. Each suspension span is two lanes wide (one lane in each direction), with a pedestrian walkway on one side. South channel (U.S.) span: The span on the US side of the border crosses the St. Lawrence River connecting the mainland at Collins Landing, New York to Wellesley Island, New York. This span is part of the US Federal Highway Interstate (I-81) system. A four-lane toll plaza is located on the northbound roadway just south of the US span. Adjacent to the US toll plaza are the main TIBA Administration Offices.

South Channel Span

International spans: Theses include northbound and southbound road level spans known as the “Rift Bridges” over the St. Lawrence River between Wellesley Island, New York and Hill Island, Ontario. This crossing constitutes the actual international border between the US and Canada. US Customs is located about one thousand feet south of the west (southbound) span, while Canadian Customs is located directly north of the east (northbound) span. North Channel (Can.) span: This span on the Canadian side of the border connects the mainland at Ivy Lea, Ontario over the St. Lawrence River to Hill Island, Ontario. This span is part of provincial Highway 137 which connects the four-lane Highway 401 to US I-81. A three-lane toll plaza is located on the southbound roadway just north of the Canadian span. Adjacent to the Canadian toll plaza is a TIBA Administrative building servicing the toll plaza. Figure 1 shows the locations of the major components of the TIBA network. The presence of warren trusses on the bridge structure limits the vehicle clearance to 16’-6”, with posted clearances of 15’-6”. Special permits and/or escorts are required for certain vehicles, including: (1) Vehicles having a gross weight in excess of 45 tons (40,842 kgs.). (2) Vehicles having a height in excess of 14’ (4.2672 meters). (3) Vehicles having a width in excess of 8’-6” (2.6218 meters).

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

FIGURE 1: STUDY AREA

Canadian Toll Plaza and Administration Building

Canadian

“Rift Bridges” Border Crossing and Customs

N

US Span

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US Toll Plaza and TIBA Administration Offices

Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Thousand Islands Bridge Authority Thousand Islands Bridge systems’ operations are shared under a joint agreement between the TIBA and the Federal Bridge Corporation Limited (FBCL) of Canada. Besides the operations and maintenance of bridge facilities, TIBA is responsible for the operations of Boldt Castle, Thousand Islands Regional Tourism Development Corporation, and The Capital Corridor Trade & Tourism Initiative. The organization of the TIBA Toll Operations is as follows: Executive Director

Director Bridge Facilities

Toll Operations Manager

IT Support

Finance/ Accountant

Assistant Toll Operations Manager

Toll Collector

Toll Collector

Toll Collector

Toll Plaza Configuration The US Toll Plaza typically utilizes one to three of the four available toll lanes. Exceptions occur when high volumes of vehicles use the bridge during the peak summer tourism months. The toll plaza contains three toll booths, two of which can accept toll fares from lanes on either side. At the time of our site visit, the existing toll collection configuration consists of Booth #1 servicing Lane 1, Booth #2 servicing Lane 2, Lane 3 non-operational, and Booth #3 servicing Lane 4. Lane 1 has weigh-inmotion scales and loop detectors designed to identify over-weight vehicles and / or the need the need for permits plus special operations such as escorts for over-dimensional vehicles. For this reason, all truck traffic is directed to use Lane 1 for toll processing.

TIBA Toll Collection Booths

• When two or more lanes and booths are open at the toll plaza, trucks and buses must use the righthand lane that is designated by signage for such vehicles unless instructed otherwise by a TIBA employee. • All commercial trucks and buses are to maintain a distance of 500’ (150 meters) between other like vehicles traveling in the same direction while on the bridges. • The bridge speed limits are set at 40 mph for the US span, and 50 kph for the Canadian span.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

The Canadian Toll Plaza typically utilizes one to two of the three available toll lanes. Exceptions occur when high volumes of vehicles use the bridge during the peak summer tourism months, as well as statutory holidays year round, particularly holidays bordering on weekends. This toll plaza contains two toll booths, one of which can process tolls from lanes on either side. The toll collection configuration at the time of this site visit consisted of Booth #1 servicing Lane 1, Lane 2 non-operational, and Booth #2 servicing Lane 3. Lanes 1 and 3 have weigh-in-motion scales and loop detectors, however the scales in Lane 1 are currently non-functioning. For this reason, all truck traffic is directed to use Lane 3 for toll processing. Toll Collection System and Communications The following summarizes the components of the existing Toll Collection System (TCS) and communications used to transfer the data from the US and Canadian Plazas to the Host System located in the US Plaza Toll Control Building. The existing Toll Collection System (TCS) was designed, integrated, and installed in 1992 by The Revenue Markets Inc (TRMI). In 1999 the software was replaced to address Y2K concerns. The system is transaction based, as opposed to summary based, and keeps track of each vehicle’s data including number of axles, classification by collector, classification by system, toll expected, toll paid, payment method, currency, and weight. Having lasted 22 years, all components of the system (i.e. lane components, servers, system hardware and software) have become relatively obsolete and difficult to maintain. Hardware and software components are difficult to find. The current software is outdated to the point where the TIBA, along with TRMI, are unable to get the appropriate support for some issues. Reporting through the plaza administration program cannot be updated to address current needs such as providing desired details regarding vehicle traffic, or provide functionality such as ability to add corrections when generating charge statements. Within the toll booth, there is no ability to add or adjust functions such as touch screens and drop down menus for charge transactions to improve efficiency. Cables and electrical wiring need to be replaced. The booths occasionally have power issues when at maximum power use, typically due to the added load of heat or air conditioning. The existing components of the system include the following: US Plaza Lanes The TCS Lane equipment includes the following: All lanes include a treadle, patron fare display, overhead signal, swing gate, toll terminal, monitors, card swipes, and lane controller. Lane 1, which is primarily for large commercial trucks, also has a traffic signal, scales, and loop detector. Lane 1: Lane 1 is primarily used for trucks, although other vehicles are also allowed to use the lane. The equipment in the physical lane begins with a traffic signal located approximately 130’ before the toll booth and is used to control the spacing and processing of trucks. The signal is “green” unless a truck is already in the lane being processed at the toll booth. If a vehicle is being processed at the booth, then the light turns “red” until the transaction is complete and the vehicle leaves the lane. Then the light turns “green” to allow the following vehicle to proceed to the booth for processing (typically payment only, but may also include processing of overweight/oversize permits and “holds”). The purpose of this sequence is to allow for proper vehicle separation, as well as identification including weight. As discussed, trucks are required to maintain a minimum distance of 500’ (150m) between like vehicles. Between the traffic signal and the toll booth there is a series of weigh-in-motion scales that weighs each set of axles and total weight of each truck to ensure proper distribution of weight and, if warranted, trigger the need to process the vehicle as “overweight”. A loop detector following the scales separates

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

the vehicles and allows the system to then total the weight for that vehicle. The weight data is conveyed to the collector through a monitor inside the booth, as well as monitored in the Toll Control Buildings. A four-strip contact treadle is located after the toll booth and counts the axles of each vehicle. The fourstrip treadles allow for recognition of direction of travel, and keep track of axles if a vehicle backs up before leaving the lane. Once the last axle/set of tires crosses the treadle, the number of axles is transmitted to the system and the transaction is complete. A patron fare display (flip-disc) is located on the island after the booth to provide class, fare, and payment feedback to the patron. Messages are displayed in English and French. The booth contains the toll terminal, three monitors, two card swipes, and manual controls for the overhead signal, swing gate, and traffic signal. One Card Swipe is used for credit cards only, while the other is used for TIBA Commutation Trip Cards, and TIBA Commercial Charge Account Fare Cards. The swipe used for Trip Cards and Fare Cards is part of the TRMI system and used to process transaction using the Trip Cards or Fare Cards. The credit card swipe is actually not part of the TRMI toll collection system. It is used to process credit card charges to either pay a toll, escort fees, or purchase Trip Cards. Each of the three monitors is used for a different purpose. One provides the toll system feedback such as system class, collector class, and fare. Another monitor provides feedback on weight of trucks. The third provides feedback on bridge conditions, including video feeds from both the US and Canadian Spans, as well as wind/weather conditions. The toll terminal is a TRMI custom design with push buttons and is connected to one of the monitors for visual feedback. The lane controller is Windows XP-based and kept in an enclosed area above the toll booth. The backup UPS (uninterrupted power supply) is also housed in this area. The area is accessed from outside the booth via a ladder and small vented doorway. This arrangement makes system maintenance somewhat cumbersome. The lane controllers are housed in a weatherproof cabinet that pulls air from the booth below to safeguard from environmental conditions such as moisture and temperature variations. Lanes 2 and 3: Lanes 2 and 3 are primarily used for all other vehicles except commercial trucks. At times when Lane 1 is closed, typically for short durations or during maintenance, all vehicle types except wide loads can be accepted in Lane 2 or 3. Lanes 2 and 3 are both serviced by toll booth #2. These lanes do not have an approach traffic signal, scales, or a loop detector. They also do not have a monitor for feedback on the weight of vehicles. All other equipment is similar to Lane 1, including the treadle, overhead signal, PFD, gate, toll terminal, card swipes, monitors, UPS, and lane controller. Inside the booth there are two sets of toll terminals, card swipes, monitors; one for each lane configured back-toback on counters on each end of the booth. Lane 4: Lane 4 is similar to lanes 2 and 3, except there is only one set of equipment inside the booth. Canadian Plaza Lanes The Canadian Plaza lanes all have the same equipment as the US Lanes; however there are only three lanes and two booths. Lanes 1 and 3 are configured as truck lanes similar to the US Plaza Lane 1. Lane 2 is configured similar to the US Plaza Lanes 2, 3, and 4, primarily for non-commercial vehicles.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Lane 1 is currently not functioning as a truck lane due to some malfunctioning components, so all trucks are typically directed to Lane 3. Lanes 1 and 2 are serviced from the same booth, and has a similar configuration to the booth at the US Plaza that service US lanes 2 and 3. Host Computer, Workstations, and Communications The lane controllers from the US Plaza lanes are connected directly to the Host Server Computers in the US Toll Control Building. The lane controllers from the Canadian Plaza lanes are connected via microwave, with an internet backup for redundancy, to the Host Server Computers in the US Toll Control Building. The Host Server includes a Main Server, a Data Processor, and an Applications Server. There are four workstations that access the Host Server Computers. Two workstations are used by the Toll Accounting/Auditing Office, and the other two workstations are for use by the Supervisors at each of the toll plazas. Traffic Management Center TIBA’s Security Operations Center (SOC) and IT systems were last updated TIBA Traffic Management in 2008. The SOC contains multiple video monitors and the capability to Center oversee both spans simultaneously and from multiple angles. Digital Video of the past 2 weeks’ operations is retained at all times. Anything older is recorded over. Toll Operations Methods of payment: Vehicles can use one of the following four payment methods: • Cash - Customers can pay in US or Canadian currency. Toll rates for each currency are posted and adjusted periodically according to the exchange rate. The rates are currently at par. • Credit Card - Customers using credit cards are charged in US currency, regardless of which toll plaza the transaction occurs at. • TIBA-Issued Commutation Trip Cards (passenger cars) - Commuter Discount Fare (CDF) Cards are available for either 16 or 72 trips. Most customers who buy commuter cards live or work on Wellesley Island, NY or Hill Island, Ontario. • TIBA-Issued Commercial Charge Account Fare Card (commercial vehicles) – Commercial operators (independent or fleet) can open an account with the TIBA and receive a commercial fare card for payment. One card for each account is kept in each toll booth for payment. Volume discounts are provided to each account based on annual usage limits. A large number of non-revenue crossings are made by TIBA staff, US and Canadian Border and Customs employees, Coast Guard, local Police, and various other eligible federal, state, provincial and local users. Although no tolls are collected for these users, all crossings are documented using non-revenue fare cards similar to the commercial fare cards. Toll Transactions: All booths have a toll collector when operational. At the time a vehicle enters the toll lane, the collector uses the toll terminal

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TIBA Patron Fare Display

Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

to enter the type of vehicle (classification for trucks and trailers is based on number of axles). The toll terminal provides feedback on the entered class, showing number of axles, and calculated fare. At this time, the calculated fare also appears on the Passenger Fare Display (PFD) next to the booth. If the vehicle is non-revenue or has a commercial fare card, the collector swipes the appropriate fare card using a magnetic stripe reader and issues a receipt for signature (commercial only). Similarly, if the customer is paying with a credit card, the toll collector swipes the card and issues a receipt, if requested or required if over a dollar amount threshold, for signature. For cash transactions, the toll collector accepts the money and issues a receipt (if requested) and any change due in the appropriate currency. Customers using CDF cards are not issued a receipt; the PFD exhibits the number of trips remaining on the CDF card. A collector can correct the classification if a receipt has not yet been generated or the vehicle has not crossed the treadle. The Automatic Vehicle Classification (AVC) subsystem identifies each vehicle class when the vehicle exits the lane. The AVC then validates the collector’s classification, and the transaction is complete. If there is a difference between the classification by the collector and the AVC system, a discrepancy notice appears on the toll terminal screen. At this point, the toll collector hits a “Violation” button and manually enters the discrepancy on a toll collector report under the “Variation and Correction” section. The collector adds a comment to the shift report to alert accounting/audit staff of the error. As mentioned previously, commercial traffic is directed to use special lanes outfitted with weigh-in-motion scales and loop detectors. These lanes are separated from the other toll lanes by a raised concrete curb/median. A traffic signal is situated at the start of the toll lane, approximately 130’ short of the toll booth. Trucks are instructed to stop at this point or continue to the toll booth depending on the signal display. The signal is “green” by default and when the booth is clear. Only one truck is allowed to move into the toll lane at a time. Once inside the toll lane, each truck is weighed by a weigh-in-motion scale, the operation of which is triggered by loop Commercial Traffic Toll Lane detectors located immediately before the scale. When a truck passes over the loop detector (activating the scale) and the truck exceeds a specific total weight the toll lane signal turns “red” to prevent other trucks from entering, until the overweight vehicle has been processed. After the toll is processed, the truck passes over a treadle which registers the number of axles. This completes the transaction and turns the upstream toll lane signal back to green. ”Hold” Operations TIBA’s toll operations system is integrated with its need to provide safe crossing for oversized or overweight vehicles, as well as bridge maintenance. Both Thousand Islands Bridge spans are narrow and cannot accommodate two-way traffic when bridge maintenance requires a lane closure, or vehicles wider than a 8’6” need to cross. Similarly, due to structural capacity of the bridges, overweight vehicles must cross with greater spacing between vehicles and with only one direction at a time. As a result, TIBA implements and manages a process known as “Holds” to safely escort these vehicles across the bridges. When an oversized or overweight vehicle needs to cross the bridge, an application is filed with

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

TIBA in addition to obtaining the necessary permits. If applications are not filed ahead of time, they can be filled out and submitted at the toll plaza upon arrival. The vehicle is marshalled to the right curb past the toll plaza to fill out the application and/or wait for the escort to arrive. Once all forms and permits are in order, the appropriate toll fare and escort permit fees are processed. At the time of this study, Escort Permit Fees were $125 per crossing. All toll lanes are temporarily closed by lowering toll gates at each booth. A supervisor is tasked with stopping traffic at the non-tolled direction of the span using a manually operated traffic control signal. Due to limited vertical and lateral clearances at the toll plaza, oversized vehicles over 14’-4” or 8’-6” wide are directed onto the bridge using gaps in the roadway median. The vehicles then can proceed over the bridge being careful to drive over the center-line and appropriately spaced from other oversized vehicles (if more than one). Once the first span is cleared, the supervisor notifies the next toll plaza to begin the hold process at the next span. Staff remarked that as many as 20 holds can occur in one day. Parsons Brinckerhoff was able to observe several holds for oversized vehicles, overweight vehicles, and bridge maintenance during our site visit. During the morning peak period when commuters and oversize trucks are most numerous, a hold operation was observed resulting in a queue of approximately 20 vehicles at the toll plaza as seen in the picture at right.

Hold Condition at TIBA Toll Plaza

Traffic Patterns Traffic varies greatly throughout the year. The main reason in the variations is attributed to regional tourism and seasonal residents on the adjoining islands connected by the crossing system. Typically, the volume of cars using the bridge peaks on Fridays and the weekends, regardless of the time of year. The volume of Trucks is fairly consistent throughout the year, and thus make up a larger proportion of the total traffic crossing the bridge during the winter months than in the summer months. Commercial truck traffic typically peaks in the southbound direction in the beginning of the week, including Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. Starting in the middle of the week, this trend reverses so that truck traffic is higher in the northbound direction, peaking on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Other conditions contribute to daily fluctuations in traffic volumes such as commuter traffic during the weekdays headed to and from jobs on at the border inspection facilities. See Appendix A-1: Daily and Hourly Traffic for charts showing traffic trends. The truck lanes can process approximately 120 vehicles per hour, with average processing times of 30 seconds per vehicle. However, the demand is typically well below this threshold, with peak demands no greater than approximately 80 trucks per hour. It should be noted that during these peak periods, the entire hour may not be available for processing due to occasional “hold” operations. The other lanes can process up to approximately 300 vehicles per hour, with an average processing rate of 12 seconds per vehicle. Demand is generally no greater than 500 vehicles per hour during the peak summer period, when two lanes (three total) are available for processing. Demands during the off-peak periods are generally no greater than 250 vehicles per hour, when one lane (two total) is typically available for processing. Theses capacities generally match or exceed the capacity of the border inspection facilities’ operations.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Thus increasing capacity at the toll plazas, even if demand warranted, would cause greater congestion at the border crossings. Special operations are conducted during peak periods at the Canadian Plaza due to delays at the border crossing. When excessive queues develop at the border crossing, the toll lanes are metered by holding operations and allowing cars or trucks to be processed in batches of 20-30 vehicles at a time, thus managing the congestion and operations at the border crossing. The following figures describe the operations when either cars or trucks are congested at the border crossing. In addition there also times, though less frequent, when both cars and trucks are congested at the border crossing. During these conditions, both cars and trucks are metered at the toll plaza. FIGURE 2: CARS CONGESTED AT BORDER INSPECTION FACILITIES Cars are held and processed in batches when congestion begins at border crossing. Trucks are allowed to use the left lane approaching the plaza and continue to be processed since the trucks are not congested at the border. TIBA implements special traffic controls including use of manual queuing traffic cones and shoulder running to allow trucks to reach Canadian Toll Plaza.

N

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

FIGURE 3: TRUCKS CONGESTED AT BORDER INSPECTION FACILITIES Trucks are held and processed in batches when congestion begins at border inspection facilities. Cars are allowed to use right lane approaching plaza and continue to be processed since the cars are not congested at the border. TIBA implements special traffic controls including use of traffic cones and shoulder running to queue trucks as they approach Canadian Toll Plaza.

N

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Shift Changes At the end of each toll collector’s shift, the lane signal is switched to red”, the toll gate is lowered, and a traffic cone is placed in the center of the toll lane. The collector prints out a batch report for all credit transactions. Coins are bagged separately based on currency type. Paper money sorted by currency, all receipts, batch report, and settlement report are placed into a third bag. All three money bags and the toll collector report are then brought to the toll control building by the toll collector; thus ending their shift. Money bags are deposited into a drop box at each toll administration building for counting by other TIBA staff members. At the end of each shift, the toll collector logs out of their terminal so that the new collector can log in. This uniquely identifies each collector to the system in order to account for the money correctly. At the end of each Tour of Duty (TOD), a print out of the shift activity is generated. TIBA uses this to perform audits of each toll collector’s daily transactions. At the beginning of the new toll collector’s shift, the traffic cone is removed from the center of the toll lane, the toll gate is raised, and the lane indicator is switched to “green”. There are three shifts for toll collectors (8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m., and 12:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.). These shifts are referred to as a TOD. Although each toll collector is not responsible for counting their entire shift deposit (this is done in the bank room), they are responsible for ensuring that the bank drawer in each toll booth contains $1,070 in US and Canadian currency in startup money for the next toll collector. This can be broken down in small bills as the toll collector deems necessary. The toll collector starting their new shift signs the toll collector report to verify that the $1,070 is in the bank drawer at the start of her/his shift. Bank Room As mentioned, all toll collectors deposit money bags into the drop boxes located in the toll control buildings. The money bags are locked, with keys held by the Cash-up Clerk. The US toll control building serves as the central uniform distribution and storage facility for TIBA. As a result, all money bags from the Canadian toll plaza are brought to the Banking Room at the toll control building on the US side of the border to be counted, sorted, and audited. The Toll Operations Manager is typically in charge of making these transfers and deposits the money bags in the same drop box as the US toll plaza money bags. Each morning, a Cash-up Clerk opens the safe and each of the money bags. Coins are counted using mechanical coin counters and verified by a coin roller machine. Bills are counted by hand and verified by a bill counter. There are separate coin counter machines, one for each type of currency. The total amount of each money bag is typed onto calculator tape and entered on the respective collector report. The tape is also used to add all

Sample TIBA Toll Receipt

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

money bags from each collector to calculate the daily total. These values are later used to audit each of the TODs with the toll collection system data. US currency, Canadian currency, and credit charges are added separately on the tape. US and Canadian currencies are sorted separately as well, with Canadian currency deposited in a Canadian bank and US currency deposited in a US bank. Should the amount of money crossing the international border (either to be counted in the US or to be deposited in Canada) exceed $10,000, a declaration at Canadian and US Customs is required. Money is counted everyday during the summer months, typically from May through September. During the remaining months, money is counted only on weekdays. The Cash-up Clerk is responsible for filling out a “Daily Total Receipts” form each day after processing before sending to the Auditing and Accounting department. Auditing TIBA employs two accountants to conduct audits for the toll plazas and the organization as a whole. The toll auditor is responsible for generating TOD reports for each collector and shift. Using the TOD summaries generated by the toll collection system, the Toll Collector Reconciliation reports are verified against receipts submitted for each lane. The information from the Toll Collector Reconciliation reports are then entered into the toll collection system. If a discrepancy is found on the Toll Collector Reconciliation report, adjustments are made to the TOD summary. Once all changes are made or if there are no issues found, the TODs are “Cashed In” and closed out. Two sets of reports are generated, one unadjusted and one adjusted. If a problem arises that cannot be rectified using the Toll Collector Reconciliation reports, then the Plaza Message Reports are used to investigate unusual events. This process is all done within the TCS’s Auditing Function. The accountants then proceed with manual processing which includes entering data into an Income Journal (Excel Spreadsheet). The information from the Income Journal is then entered into the MAS 90 accounting program. TIBA’s auditor stated that one of the most time consuming parts of the job was handling adjustments due to charge account statements at the end of each month, and that many of her auditing tools were customized in Microsoft Excel. Toll Revenue See Appendix A-2: Fiscal Year Traffic and Revenue Reports for summary of traffic and revenue for the last 5 fiscal years. Fiscal Year 2012/2013 resulted in total toll revenues of $7.3 million, of which about 4% came from Trip Card sales. Class 1 (passenger cars) and Class 7 (5-axle trucks) made up the majority of traffic and revenue at 86%. About 25% of passenger cars (20% of total traffic) used trip cards as their method of payment; while approximately 30% of commercial vehicles paid via Commercial Charge Account Fare Card (not shown in Table 1).

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Table 1: Traffic and Revenue Traffic Class 1-3 (Cash) Class 1 (trip Cards) Class 1 (Non-Revenue) Class 7 Other Comm. Classes Trip Cards Sold

1,219,510 428,086 103,958 316,488 40,900

Total

2,108,942

Revenue 58% 20% 5% 15% 2%

$ 3,179,189

43%

$ 3,143,770 $ 714,693 $ 285,146

43% 10% 4%

$ 7,322,798

Cost to Collect TIBA provided a summary of the current costs to collect manual tolls with the existing system and operations. The costs include: labor and fringes, toll maintenance, utilities, shared projects, and cash-up (See Appendix A-3: Annual Budget and Cost to Collect). The costs for 2011/2012 were approximately $1.6 million, of which about $1.4 million associated with labor and fringes. This reflects 4 lanes open full time for 9.5 months, and 6 lanes open full time for 2.5 months. Total vehicles in 2011/2012 was approximately 2.1 million vehicles. This results in a cost to collect of $0.76 cents per transaction. Toll Budget The operating budget for the last two Fiscal Years was approximately $1.5 million dollars (See Appendix A-3: Annual Budget and Cost to Collect). The majority of the budget, approximately $1.3 million, is associated with salaries and benefits. Revenue was anticipated to be about $8 million, resulting in an anticipated profit of about $6.6 million for fiscal Year 2011/2012. However, actual revenue, costs, and profit were lower than budgeted; resulting in an actual profit of $5.5 million. Patron Survey and Toll Tag Survey Patron Surveys were conducted by Parsons Brinckerhoff on Thursday, January 16, 2014. Noncommercial patrons (i.e., Vehicle Classes 1-3) were interviewed as they approached the US and Canadian plazas. A series of questions were asked including frequency of use (how often patrons use the TIBA crossing), as well as membership or familiarity with various electronic toll programs including EZPass, 407 ETR, A30 Express, or A25 Smart Link. Patrons were also asked how often they use other nearby toll facilities such as the NY State Thruway, Peace Bridge, 407 ETR, A-30 Toll Bridge, and/or the A25 Smart Link.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Limited sample surveys were also conducted of commercial vehicles to determine how many had some type of electronic toll transponders. These were performed by visual observation of windshields. For each commercial vehicle observed in the survey, the method of payment was noted and the type of tag was noted (e.g. E-ZPass, PrePass, 407, A-30, or A-25). This allowed for correlation of existing transponder users to method of payment. In addition, TIBA conducted a Toll Tag Study from June 2011 through May 2012. Transponder readers were installed at a screenline location just north of the US Toll Plaza. Caution should be taken when reviewing the data for southbound trips, since they do not differentiate between trips that originated in Canada vs. trips originating from Wellesley Island. The results from the various surveys are discussed below and summarized in Appendix A-4: Patron Surveys and Toll Tag Study. Frequency Approximately 50% of the autos at the US Plaza use the bridge at least once a week, while only 17% of autos at the Canadian plaza use the bridge at least once a week. This may indicate that during the offpeak season many of the users at the US Plaza are destined for Wellesley Island as part of work or home-based trips; while users at the Canadian Plaza are long distance, vacation, recreational, or shopping trips. E-ZPass Penetration Based on the Patron Survey, 25% of autos had E-ZPass at the US Plaza, while 15% of autos had E-ZPass at the Canadian Plaza. About 50- 60% of trucks had E-ZPass at both plazas. It should be noted, that this reflects the traffic and user profile in January, which is a low volume month. It is anticipated that during the peak season, the market share will likely increase a few percentage points. This assumption is based on the Toll Tag data study, which showed that July had the highest market share. Toll Tag Study Throughout the year, the market share of vehicles with an E-ZPass Transponder was fairly consistent, with approximately 30% of all vehicles having an E-ZPass tag. Other toll tag types made up less than 1% of total vehicles. A sample breakdown of data for January 2012 from the Toll Tag Study was conducted to determine the market share of E-ZPass for cars, trucks, and total. While the total is about 30% in both directions, it shows the breakdown as about 15% of cars had E-ZPass, and 50% of trucks had E-ZPass in both directions. This compares reasonably with our patron survey results of 15-25% for cars, and 49-63% for trucks. Depending on the month, E-ZPass market share for passenger cars ranged from a low of 11% in April to a high of 19% in July. Commercial vehicle market share was more consistent throughout the year, ranging from 49% in April to 53% in July. In addition, sample surveys (not statistically significant) of TIBA’s Commercial Charge Account Card customers identified roughly 50% of existing charge card users also had E-ZPass.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Summary of Existing Conditions It is clear that a more streamlined and modern toll system is something TIBA both needs and desires. Hardware components and software are increasingly difficult to support. The system’s platform is antiquated with virtually no ability to add functionality such as new reports or processes. The following is a list of desired features that any new ETC system should provide. • Commuter Cards should be phased out with any new system. The phasing out will need to account for honoring Commuter Cards for 2 years post-issuance. • Capacity, processing rates, and speeds through the toll plaza should be controlled due to Customs operations further downstream from each of the toll plazas as well as the vehicle “hold” operations. • Accommodate the many holds that take place throughout the day (i.e., stopping traffic, shutting down all lanes, gate control). • Ability to charge customers in US or Canadian currencies (for customers paying with cash). • Locate lane controllers in the Plaza Buildings for ease of access and maintenance. • Ability and flexibility to create customized reports in house. • Improve power supply to the toll booths to account for greater loads, especially considering heating and air conditioning requirements.

3. Adaptability for current and future discount programs. ETC Policies Before any new system can be fully analyzed, establishing the underlying policy elements that will affect the implementation of a new system, especially considering ETC, should be identified. There are three major categories of policies relating to a new TCS and ETC. The first category, Market Share Policy Elements, includes decisions that directly affect the percentage of ETC users. A second group, Internal Policy Elements, does not affect the number of ETC users, but rather relates to the internal operations of the TIBA. The third group can be termed Goal Policy Elements and affects both the customers and the TIBA. Items like increasing net revenues (toll revenue minus operating costs) and market penetration are typical goals of an ETC program. Many of the goal elements will be used as the criteria in evaluating the proposed implementation. The baseline policy elements are discussed below. MARKET SHARE POLICY ELEMENTS A market share policy element can be most simply defined as one that is both directly discernable to potential customers, and also affects the percentage that will select ETC as a method of payment. Discounts Class 1 (Passenger Cars): The current trip card discount rates are effectively 55% for a fully utilized 16 Trip Card, and 84% for a fully utilized 72 Trip Card. It should be noted that cards are often not utilized to their full amount, and therefore the effective and overall average discounts are less than these amounts. Class 2-3 (2-3 Axle Non Commercial Vehicles): No discounts. Class 4-10 (Commercial Vehicles): Commercial Card patrons are eligible for a rebate program, for which rebates vary and are based on total annual volumes by account (i.e. total account transactions, not by vehicle). There were 56 total commercial accounts in 2012, of which 12 qualified for a volume discount. The rebate program is available to Commercial Charge Account customers who maintain toll charges of

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

$500/month, are in good standing, and have a deposit with the Authority. Table 2: Volume and Discount

Source:TIBA

FISCAL YEAR VOLUME $24,000 - $50,000 $50,001 - $75,000 $75,001 - $100,000 $100,001 and over

DISCOUNT 3% 5% 7% 10%

Assumption: TIBA intends to maintain some form of discount for frequent users, local residents, and frequent commercial users. For purposes of this study the following will be assumed: • Only ETC users will be eligible for discounts. No standard discount plan for ETC users. An example of a standard discount plan would be a flat 10% discount for any E-ZPass user such as the plan implemented at the Peace Bridge. Must register with the TIBA’s Customer Service Center (e.g. NYSTA CSC) for the applicable discount to be eligible. • Class 1-3: 84% discount for registered accounts that make a minimum of 3 trips in a given month. (Rationale is current 72 trip card is valid for two years, which averages to 3 trips per month) • Class 4-10: The same volume discount as currently exists will be continued for registered accounts. Alternatives will likely need to be developed during the implementation phase for further analysis and may change this assumption. Status of Trip Cards and Commercial Cards Assumption: Discontinue issuing of Trip Cards and Commercial Cards after full implementation of ETC. Continue to accept existing trip cards in circulation for two years following implementation of a new system until all cards expire. Ease of Purchase This policy refers to methods and locations that will be used for distributing transponders, opening accounts, handling inquiries and complaints. Assumption: Offer “E-ZPass On-the-Go” at toll plazas. All inquiries referred to CSC. “E-ZPass On-the-Go” is a way to obtain a pre-loaded E-ZPass tag at a participating retailer or toll agency. For upstate New York customers, they can stop at a participating retailer and purchase the prepackaged account kit for $25.00. For downstate New York customers, they can stop at any MTA Bridges and Tunnels cash lanes and purchase the prepackaged account kit for $30.00. Customer Cost of Tag Assumption: TIBA will not have home accounts, assume same as NYSTA. Passenger Accounts: $10 refundable deposit, waived if credit card given. Commercial Accounts: Tag fee of .50 Cents/month for Interior/Exterior Tags and $1.00/month for Fusion Tags. (Note: Fusion Tags are used for CVO PrePass at Weigh Stations, and also used to pay tolls. Basically two tags in one).

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Method of Payment for ETC Use Assumption: TIBA will not have home accounts, assume same as NYSTA. Pre-paid for passenger accounts and business accounts; post-paid for commercial accounts. Lane Type, Distribution, and Number Assumption: Minimum of two lanes at all times for both plazas. All lanes will accept ETC. Trucks will continue to be directed to a staffed mixed mode lane which will be adapted to include ETC. A second staffed lane for other vehicles will be maintained and will be adapted to include ETC. A third dedicated ETC lane will typically be available at all times for non-commercial vehicles only. Tag Transfer Assumption: Allow tag to be transferred to vehicles of the same class. INTERNAL POLICY ELEMENTS Internal policy elements generally deal with issues that are of concern to the TIBA only. The outcome of whatever choice is made typically will not cause any shifts in estimated market share for ETC, but may impact internal procedures and operating costs. Enforcement Assumption: Automatic Gates will be installed in all lanes to enforce payments, as well as manage traffic throughput. Cameras will be included for security purposes, but not actual enforcement. Customer Service Center Assumption: The TIBA intends to use an existing CSC. Existing agreements with NYSTA from other agencies such as NYSBA, Peace Bridge, or NFBC will be used as reference for costs and other issues impacting this element. Compatibility with Existing Auditing Practices Assumption: The existing audit practices will be maintained as a minimum. ETC transactions must have sufficient controls to ensure the security of all revenues. Interoperability Assumption: The system should be E-ZPass approved, with the ability to pass all of the E-ZPass Interagency Group’s (IAG’s) testing requirements. (See Appendix D-1: Proposed E-ZPass Interagency Mandatory Policies and D-2: Proposed E-ZPass Interagency Discretionary Policies for summary of TIBA’s proposed IAG-related Policies). The system should be adaptable to other systems in the future such as Canadian agencies. GOAL POLICY ELEMENTS Goal policy elements affect both the customers and TIBA. Gross/Net Revenues This element will be used as a criterion in evaluating the preferred implementation. Net revenue typically refers to total toll revenues (Gross) minus operating costs. Other costs that may be included as a deduction include bond debt and capital depreciation. The TIBA is currently debt free. Assumption: N/A

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Market Penetration This element will vary depending on other policy elements such as discounts or lane types. The goal for market penetration is typically meeting minimum levels to warrant dedicated lanes, as well as the “optimum” market share when revenue, capital and operating costs are considered. Assumption: N/A Capital, Operating, and Maintenance Costs These elements will be used as criteria in evaluating the preferred implementation. Capital costs relate to new construction and TCS. Operating costs relate to expenses such as personnel salaries, processing of tolls, back-end costs and bank costs. Maintenance costs include maintenance of the TCS (lane/plaza infrastructure and equipment, computers, signs). Assumption: Assume a new TCS will be implemented regardless of study findings. Therefore incremental costs compared to a new conventional system without ETC will be the basis for this analysis. North American Interoperability Assumption: The system should support US and Canadian policy desires for interoperable North American electronic toll collection -- seamlessly linking countries and regions. This will further support the TIBA’s goal of serving common customers and tourists, by progressively maintaining their economic development support role to the bi-national region by moving people, goods, and vehicles safely, securely, and efficiently. Facilitate Bi-national Trade Assumption: The US and Canada share the largest bilateral flow of goods, services, people and capital of any two countries in the world. The system should include infrastructure and technology improvements, consistent with Federal, State, Provincial and regional policies/plans (i.e., I-81 Corridor, The National Policy for Strategic Gateways and Trade Corridors, etc.), maximizing the flow of bi-national commerce now and into the future where considerable growth is anticipated.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

4. Market Share and Throughputs This section summarizes preliminary estimates of potential market share for Electronic Toll Collection (ETC), primarily E-ZPass transactions and users. This section also includes an estimate of lane requirements based on this market share estimate and assumed policies summarized in the previous section of this report. The following describes the assumptions, methods, and findings associated with the estimate of ETC market shares and lane operations. ASSUMPTIONS Market Share Model The process of analyzing and estimating future market share payment types reflects the assumed policies as outlined in the “Proposed Policy Elements Memorandum”. The main policies that would affect the penetration rate of “new” ETC patrons at the Thousand Islands Bridges would be user costs, which are primarily the discount policy, cost of tags, or account fees. Any change in the assumptions outlined in the Proposed Policy Element Memorandum would affect the findings in this memorandum related to potential ETC market share and lane operations. Furthermore, the analysis assumes that the initial implementation will include “E-ZPass” as the electronic toll payment method. Other options such as a stand-alone independent system, or other existing systems were not considered at this time for the following reasons. • A Toll Tag Study conducted by TIBA in 2011/2012 indicated approximately 20-30% of existing bridge users currently have E-ZPass. The 20-30% overall market share included 10-20% of passenger cars and about 50% of commercial vehicles with E-ZPass. • Other tags including 407 ETR, A-25, or A-35 were less than 4% combined for all vehicles. • The TIBA has indicated a desired goal is to implement an ETC system interoperable with an existing regional system. Experience with similar studies has found that the main element contributing to use of electronic toll collection for passenger cars is frequency of use and elements affecting user costs. Therefore surveys were conducted in January 2014 to gather data on the distribution of users in terms of frequency of use. The survey also assessed whether the patron was an existing E-ZPass holder or was familiar with EZPass. This data was used as a basis for determining baseline estimates. Since a market study of patrons was not conducted for this specific facility, penetration rates for patrons that would likely join an E-ZPass program offered at TIBA plazas was based on experience from other toll agencies in the northeast including international border crossings. As previously stated, the Proposed Policy Elements impacting costs will also affect market share and penetration rates. The TIBA can consider conducting a Market Study to further refine estimates and expectations, once the policies have been advanced. If warranted, this should occur prior to the Implementation Phase. For commercial vehicles, the market share estimate is based on data from the Toll Tag Study, plaza data on existing charge card usage, and sample surveys conducted in February 2014. The Market Share Model is based on 2012 annual traffic data provided by the TIBA.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Throughput Model Lane Types: Lane types reflected in the throughput model are also based on the assumptions outlined in the “Proposed Policy Elements Memorandum”: Minimum of two lanes at all times for both plazas. All lanes will accept ETC. Trucks will continue to be directed to a staffed mixed mode lane which will be adapted to include ETC. A second staffed mixedmode lane for other vehicles will be maintained and will be adapted to include ETC. A third dedicated ETC lane will typically be available at all times for passenger cars/non-commercial vehicles only. Processing Rates: Table 3 below summarizes the processing rates that were assumed for each vehicle and payment type. The cash rate of 12 seconds/vehicle for cars and 30 seconds/vehicle for commercial vehicles is based on observed throughput at the plaza while under high demand conditions. This was confirmed by TIBA staff. The E-ZPass rate of 4.5 seconds/vehicle for cars is based on the industry standard for a dedicated lane with gates (i.e. 800/lane). The E-ZPass rate of 20 seconds/vehicle is based on a calculation of the minimum time required to maintain a 500 foot spacing between like commercial trucks. Operationally, this would be controlled by timing the gates to provide a minimum 20 second cycle between vehicles. Table 3: Cash and E-ZPass Processing Rates

Cash E-ZPass

Passenger Cars (Includes Classes 1-3) Seconds/vehicle 12 4.5

Commercial (Includes Classes 4-10) Seconds/vehicle 30 20

The Throughput Model is based on hourly traffic data for peak days in July and April 2011 provided by the TIBA. The July condition represents one of the busiest days of the year and is assumed to indicate needs during the peak tourism season when three staffed lanes are open. The April condition represents the typical peak day throughout most of the non-tourism season when two staffed lanes are open. METHODOLOGY Market Share Model The Market Share Model estimates the number of potential future E-ZPass transactions and users assuming the TIBA were to implement a new ETC system with E-ZPass as a form of payment. The transaction estimate will be incorporated into lane throughput model to determine the capacity and number of future lanes required. The transaction estimate will also be incorporated into the cost model to determine the cost of any fees that are transaction based. The user estimate will be used to determine the number of incremental new tags and accounts that will be associated with a customer service center due to TIBA’s implementation of E-ZPass. Passenger Cars: The analysis to determine the future market share of payment types for passenger cars involves three basic steps. Step one estimates the distribution of transactions and users by frequency of

22

Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

use. The second step estimates the distribution of existing transactions and users that already have EZPass. The final step estimates the number of new transactions and users that will join E-ZPass as a result of TIBA’s E-ZPass system implementation. Appendix B-1: Market Share Estimate - Tables contains the Market Share Estimate worksheets and summary of results. Frequency Distribution: The frequency distribution estimate of transactions and users is based on the data gathered during the patron surveys conducted in January 2014. The distribution of responses from the survey was applied to the annual transactions at each plaza by payment (cash vs. trip cards). Once the transactions were distributed, they were divided by the average number of trips for those frequency groupings to determine the number of individual users. For example, transactions in the 1-3 times a month category, the annual transactions were divided by twenty-four (2 trips month times 12 months) to determine the number of users who made up those trips. Existing E-ZPass Market Share: Based on the Toll Tag Study in 2011-2012, as well as the patron surveys conducted in January 2014. The distribution of existing transactions and users was estimated. New E-ZPass Market Share: The existing E-ZPass market share was subtracted from the total transactions and users, and then the difference was multiplied by an assumed market share rate. A range of market share rates was used to provide a low and high estimate. As shown in the tables in Appendix B-1: Market Share Estimate - Tables, the trip card users were assumed to become E-ZPass users at a higher rate than cash patrons. The estimate of these new users will be used to estimate the number of new accounts and tags that will be required as a result of TIBA implementing E-ZPass. Total E-ZPass Market Share: The transactions and users from the Existing E-ZPass market share and New E-ZPass market share were added to arrive at the Total E-ZPass market share. The estimate of total transactions will be used to analyze lane throughput and requirements, as well as any fees associated with the number of E-ZPass transactions. Commercial Vehicles: The analysis for estimating future market share of payment types for commercial vehicles involves two steps. Step one included estimating the existing number of commercial transactions that already have E-ZPass. This was based on the Toll Tag Study conducted in 2011-2012. Further data on existing usage was gathered and utilized based on the patron surveys and observations conducted by Parsons Brinkerhoff in January 2014. The second step involved estimating the amount of current Commercial Charge Card Account users that already have E-ZPass. This was also based on the patron surveys and observations conducted by Parsons Brinkerhoff in January 2014. It is anticipated that most of the current Commercial Charge Card Account would continue to register through E-ZPass for any future rebate programs. Accordingly, existing account holders who already participate in the E-ZPass program through other agencies would apply to the future TIBA rebate program; and account holders who do not have E-ZPass would become members of the E-ZPass program being offered by the TIBA. For this feasibility study, we have assumed 95% of existing charge accounts would migrate to the E-ZPass program. The Toll Tag Study conducted in 2011-2012 showed that approximately 50% of commercial vehicles already have E-ZPass. Similar results were found during the patron surveys and observations conducted by Parsons Brinkerhoff in January 2014. Spot surveys and observations of trucks at both plazas showed that during certain hours, 49%-67% of 5-axle trucks had E-ZPass.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Throughput Model The Throughput Model estimates the lane requirements and operating conditions of each TIBA plaza. Two scenarios were modeled for each plaza. One scenario assumed there were no “holds” throughout the day, while the second scenario assumed there was one “hold” an hour that lasted 10 minutes. Hourly data from a peak day in July and April was selected for analysis of each scenario. (Note: A “hold” is TIBA’s practice of temporarily stopping all traffic at the plazas. These “holds” are implemented for several reasons including: escorting overweight/wide vehicles across the bridge, bridge maintenance when alternating one-way traffic is required, and to meter traffic when the border crossing is congested). The model assigns vehicles via the following algorithm to determine the number of future lanes required. • All trucks were assigned to one staffed lane that would accept both cash and E-ZPass payment methods. • Once the trucks were assigned, any available capacity in that lane was used by assigning passenger cars paying by cash. • Once the capacity of the 1st lane was reached any remaining passenger cars paying cash were assigned to a second staffed lane. If the second lane reached capacity, then any remaining passenger cars paying cash were assigned to a third staffed lane (Note: A third staffed lane was not required under any condition). • All cars paying via E-ZPass were assigned to a dedicated E-ZPass lane. MARKET SHARE AND THROUGHPUT FINDINGS Market Share Model Results of the Market Share Model for passenger cars and commercial vehicles are summarized in Tables 4 and 5 below respectively. The following is a summary of results from the passenger car and commercial vehicle estimates of future market share. • Future passenger car transactions are estimated to be made up of 38-48% E-ZPass patrons at the US Plaza, and 22-29% at the Canadian Plaza. The number of new accounts is estimated to be between 6,300 and 26,000. • Future commercial vehicle transactions are estimated to be made up of approximately 65% E-ZPass patrons. The number of new accounts who will transfer from the existing Commercial Charge Accounts is estimated to be about 30 accounts. • Total annual E-ZPass transactions are estimated to be approximately 550,000 – 700,000 for passenger cars, and about 230,000 for commercial vehicles.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Table 4: Passenger Car Market Share Estimate

Existing

Cash

775,849

Trip Cards E-ZPass

258,616

Total

1,034,465

Cash

536,651

Trip Cards E-ZPass

178,884

Total

715,535

E-ZPass Total

Future w/ E-ZPass Low High US Plaza

Market Share Low High

644,706

534,334

62%

52%

389,759

500,131

38%

48%

1,034,465

New E-ZPass Users Low High

3,074

12,066

1,034,465 Canadian Plaza

560,375

510,606

78%

71%

155,159

204,929

22%

29%

3,247

14,301

715,535

715,535

544,919

705,060

31%

40%

6,320

26,368

Table 5: Commercial Vehicle Market Share Estimate

Annual Transactions

Distribution

E-ZPass Market Share

E-ZPass Transactions

Commercial Charge Accounts

107,216

30%

100%

107,216

Cash

250,172

70%

50%

125,086

Total

357,388

65%

232,302

Have E-ZPass

# of Charge Accounts

50% 60

New E-ZPass Accounts 30

100% 30

Throughput Model Results of the Throughput Model for the peak conditions (i.e. Friday in July) can be found in the Appendix C-1: Throughput and summarized in Table 6 below. The summary table indicates when a 2nd staffed lane would be required. Considering that it is TIBA’s policy to maintain two staffed lanes regardless of demand, there would always be sufficient capacity year-round to accommodate all traffic with just two staffed lanes. If the minimum estimated E-ZPass market shares are realized, then a third staffed lane would not be required during the peak summer tourism season. However, it should be noted that a third staffed lane may be beneficial during the periods when the border crossings are congested to facilitate reducing queues. A third staffed lane may also be beneficial during periods of frequent “holds”, such as during periods of ongoing bridge maintenance.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Table 6: Times When a 2nd Staffed Lane Would Be Required

US Plaza Canadian Plaza

26

July 11am-6pm 9am-11am

No Holds

April 3:30pm-5pm -

One Hold per Hour July April 9:30am–8:30pm 1:00pm-6:30pm 8am-12:30pm -

Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

5. Cost and Alternatives Analysis Two alternatives are discussed for comparison purposes. Alternative #1 includes electronic tolling and assumes the system will be interoperable with the E-ZPass system. Alternative #2 does not include the ability for electronic tolling. • Alternative #1: This alternative assumes a new system replacement that will include Electronic Toll Collection (ETC). The estimate for this alternative is based on a range of assumptions for hardware and software costs based on industry standards for comparable systems. It is not based on any specific proposal or vendor. In addition, other start-up and annual costs and agreements are assumed, including impacts of joining an interoperable system and required customer service center (e.g. E-ZPass Interagency Group and the New York Customer Service Center (CSC)). • Alternative #2: This alternative reflects the proposed system upgrade by the existing TCS vendor. A proposal to upgrade the existing system without the addition of electronic tolling was provided to TIBA by their existing vendor TRMI in November 2012. This proposal is attached in Appendix E-1: Cost Estimate Summary. The goals and objectives used to evaluate the alternatives include: • System Upgrade: Replace the existing system with a modern, robust, state-of-the-art system that will serve TIBA’s needs for the long term future, providing flexibility to integrate and evolve with the industry. This includes the ability to upgrade and add functionality that will provide ability to integrate with future North American interoperable systems in the United States and Canada. • North American Interoperability: The system should support US and Canadian policy desires for interoperable North American electronic toll collection -- seamlessly linking countries and regions. This will further support the TIBA’s goal of serving their local customers and tourist, by progressively maintaining their role as an economic support to the bi-national region by moving people, goods, and vehicles safely, securely, and efficiently. • Facilitate Bi-national Trade: The US and Canada share the largest bilateral flow of goods, services, people and capital of any two countries in the world. The system should include infrastructure and technology improvements, consistent with Federal, State, Provincial and regional policies/plans (i.e., I-81 Corridor, The National Policy for Strategic Gateways and Trade Corridors, etc.), maximizing the flow of bi-national commerce now and into the future where considerable growth is anticipated.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS Alternative #1 A new TCS with ETC would introduce a new way of conducting business. The previous sections of this study summarize the policy impacts and considerations that would be required if ETC were implemented, as well as the potential changes in toll operations and improvements in traffic capacity. The following section summarizes change in operations and costs that would result from implementing ETC. Based on prior analyses as part of this study, the E-ZPass interoperable system has been identified as the preferred system for initial implementation. Therefore, this summary and analyses assumes EZPass as the basis of this alternative. Interagency Group In order to be interoperable with other E-ZPass agencies, TIBA must become a member of the E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG). The E-ZPass IAG is an association of 25 toll agencies in 15 states that operates the E-ZPass ETC program, with more than 24 million E-ZPass transponders in circulation. Several classes of IAG membership are available. These are described in Table 7. The recommended class for TIBA would be the “Associate Member”. This class is for agencies such as the TIBA who will use an existing Customer Service Center (CSC), and do not intend to utilize their own CSC. There are two other basic differences between this class and Full Member class. The initial membership fee is twice as high for a Full Member, and a Full Member has voting rights on the Executive Management Committee and can sit on other committees. The National Affiliate Class is not an option, as an agency in this class is required to have its own CSC, and other CSC’s will not accommodate a National Affiliate. The point of “National Affiliate” is when two area systems want to be merged by an agency (e.g., North Carolina merging E-ZPass and SunPass, or the pending NFBC merging its legacy system with E-ZPass). As described in Table 7, Associate Membership costs include a onetime initial fee of $125,000, and annual fees of $17,500. There would also be fees associated with an initial IAG Reciprocity Acceptance Test. For budgetary purposes, we have assumed this to be approximately $100,000. This test ensures that all files are being properly formatted and transmitted between all 25 of the E-ZPass agencies once TIBA joins the system.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Table 7: IAG Membership Classes

ITEM DESCRIPTION

FULL MEMBER AGENCIES

FULL MEMBER COMPANY

ASSOCIATE MEMBER

NATIONAL AFFILIATE MEMBER NONE

Initial Membership Fee

$250,000

$250,000

$125,000

Annual Member Dues

$70,000 - > $125M Agency Revenue $17,500 - < $125M

$70,000 - > $125M Agency Revenue $17,500 - < $125M

$70,000 - > $125M Agency Revenue $17,500 - < $125M

$30,000 *Exchanges 6¢ per transaction fee

Executive Management Committee and Voting Rights Veto Rights Membership on the IAG Committees

YES

YES

NO

NO

YES YES, all Committees and can vote.

NO YES – all Committees and can vote.

NO No, but can attend Committee Meetings as an interested party, but has no vote.

IAG Irrevocable Offer benefits from Mark IV Ability to use EZPass Service Mark Logo/Name Ability to use EZPass Plus Logo/Name Service Center Requirements

YES

YES

YES

NO No, but can attend Committee Meetings as an interested party, but has no vote. NO

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

YES

NO

NO

Utilize an existing Customer Service Center or establish a separate CSC YES

Utilize an existing Customer Service Center or establish a separate CSC

Must utilize an existing Customer Service Center only

Utilize their existing Customer Service Center

YES

YES

YES

YES

Yes, but only as part of another CSC YES

Issue Transponders to Customers Independent Plazas

YES

Source: IAG

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Customer Service Center As an Associate Member, the TIBA would be required to use an existing CSC. The New York CSC currently provides services for all the New York agencies who are members of the IAG. Three agencies (New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA), Metropolitan Transportation Authority Bridges and Tunnels, and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) contract directly with the New York CSC service provider, ACS (a division of Xerox). These agencies negotiate directly with ACS for their services, and these agencies all issue their own tags. “Issuing their own tags” means the tags are identified with the agency name and logo, and the Agency ID Number is encoded in the tag as part of the transaction data. Two other agencies (New York State Bridge Authority and Buffalo & Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority (Peace Bridge)) have an agreement with the NYSTA, and do not deal directly with ACS. This saves costs for the smaller agencies by “piggybacking” onto NYSTA’s contract. These agencies do not have their own tags, NYSTA simply issues tags for them. There is no identification on the tags, externally or internally, associating the tag with either of the two agencies. The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFBC) is in the process of implementing E-ZPass, and is also negotiating with NYSTA to provide CSC services. For purposes of this study, it is assumed that the TIBA would enter into a similar agreement with NYSTA. The following is a description of cost implications associated with the agreement. There are four cost categories: • Development Costs: These are one time implementation costs that include software development, as well as establishing T1 lines for communications. Specifications set by the NY CSC require use of a T1 line for primary communications, and a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for redundancy in case there is a failure with the T1 line. Files that will be sent via the T1 line include the “Tag Status File” (file extension “ITAG”), the “Transaction File” (file extension “ICTX”), and the “Correction File” (file extension “ITXC”). These files are sent once a day to/from TIBA and the NY CSC. Software development includes modifying websites, writing rules, preparing applications, especially considering any special discount programs TIBA may want to implement. Intricate discount policies will result in higher development fees, as well as longer lead times to implement the coding. Based on the Policy Analysis performed as part of this feasibility study, the preferred implementation would develop a discount plan that mimics the current Trip Card discount and Commercial Account Rebate program. (See “policy elements” section of this report for more information on the proposed Discount policies). • Commercial Charge Account Rebates: There are two options to implement the Commercial Charge Account Rebate program. One option would be to have the NY CSC include the rebate program in their system, and handle the rebates as part of their services. This would require extensive coding, and increase development and ongoing operating costs. The second option would simply have NYSTA run a query at the end of every year and summarize account activity by revenue for the year. TIBA could then handle the rebates themselves, as they do today. The second option is recommended due to cost savings and minimal effort required by the TIBA (i.e. fewer than 20 accounts typically qualify for the rebates). • Passenger Car Discounts: A review of TIBA’s preferred policy against existing discounts offered by the NY CSC was conducted. The proposed plan would closely mimic the PANYNJ’s Staten Island

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Commuter Discount Plan, and therefore would be easier for the NY CSC to implement the plan for TIBA. (Note: PANYNJ is part of the NY CSC). We have assumed Development Costs in the range of $200,000 to $500,000 for purposes of this study. This is based on discussions with the NYSTA E-ZPass managers, who negotiate with their CSC service provider (ACS/Xerox). The lower range typically reflects a “standard” discount rate,( i.e., flat discount rate such as 10% for all E-ZPass transactions). The higher range reflects the more intricate discount policies. This range will be refined as the implementation phase identifies the preferred policies, and negotiations begin with the NYSTA. Based on recommendations cited above, we estimate the cost to be closer to the middle of this range. • Transponder Acquisition: This cost is an ongoing capital cost to cover the cost of E-ZPass tags. The terms would need to be negotiated with NYSTA, however based on initial discussions with NYSTA EZPass managers, we have assumed the following for purposes of this study. The costs for tags associated with any accounts opened within a zone surrounding the Thousand Islands Bridges would be passed onto the TIBA. This zone is likely to include zip codes in NY within a certain radius, as well as all accounts in Canada east of Toronto. There may be some cost sharing of Canadian accounts with the Peace Bridge and NFBC. For purposes of this study, we have assumed TIBA’s market share would be equal to 70% off all new accounts opened as part of their implementation. The cost of an individual tag is $8.90. Based on the market share analysis (refer to Appendix B-1: Marked Share Estimate), we are estimating between $37,000 and $162,000 for tag acquisition over the first one or two years. An intercept survey can be conducted to sample zip codes as part of the implementation phase. NYSTA can also query their database to identify how many current E-ZPass accounts are opened each year within a certain zone surrounding the Thousand Islands Bridges. The zip code survey and NYSTA data query can then be used to refine this estimate. • Communication Costs: These are ongoing operational costs to maintain the T1 service. We have assumed an annual estimate of $15,000 to $20,000 for these costs. (Note: The Peace Bridge spent about $16,200 for this expense in 2013). • Account Maintenance Costs: These are ongoing operational costs associated with maintaining accounts. These are primarily the cost of customer service representatives to handle Account-based and Facility-based calls. Account-based are calls from individual account holders; while Facility-based are calls from the agency representatives. According to NYSTA, 99% of calls are Account-based. These costs are derived based on a “Usage Day” formula. The formula takes a proportion of account transactions per day on TIBA’s facility and divides by the proportion of account transactions on all of the NY CSC facilities. That ratio is then multiplied by a unit cost to determine the fees charged for Account Maintenance. These costs are estimated to be between $50,000 and $100,000 per year. (Note: The Peace Bridge spent about $140,000 for this expense in 2013). System Integration and Procurement A new TCS with ETC would need to be procured and implemented. Procurement methods will be further analyzed and developed during the Implementation Phase of this study. For purposes of this Feasibility Phase, we have assumed a vendor has been chosen, either through sole source or competitive bid. A competitive bid process will add cost to the TIBA’s implementation budget and time to prepare, solicit, and evaluate the bids. These costs are not reflected in this report.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Once a vendor has been selected, system implementation will include the following: • • • • • •

System design to meet the preferred business rules and policies; System development and integration; System “factory” testing, typically at the vendor’s facility; System installation, lane testing, and cut-over; IAG reciprocity tests; and Acceptance testing, typically a 30-day test with live traffic to verify performance specifications.

Coordination with the CSC between the TIBA and vendor would be required to establish communication protocols and file specifications. As an IAG member, TIBA and their vendor would also be required to coordinate with the supplier of the ETC components of the system, Kapsch, to install and test the E-ZPass readers and antennas. Costs associated with the system development and integration are estimated to be between $1.7 million and $2.7 million (or $2.2 million +/-20%). These costs include the software development to conform to the TIBA’s business rules and policies, hardware and system components, as well as testing. See Appendix E-2: System Capital and Maintenance Cost Estimate for details. In addition, typical ongoing annual system maintenance contract costs are estimated to be between $20,000 and $30,000. Kapsch will also require a separate maintenance contract estimated to be between $10,000 and $15,000. Capital and Operating Costs Capital and operating costs are summarized in the Table 8 below, with details provide in Appendix E-1:

Cost Estimate Summary. Credit card fees are in addition those costs discussed in the previous sections. A

fee of 2-3% has been assumed for estimating purposes, and applied to the estimated share of revenue that would be generated through E-ZPass as a method of payment. Over 90% of E-ZPass accounts are paid for through credit cards. The revenue from transactions collected through E-ZPass is multiplied by the percentage of those transactions paying via credit cards, and then multiplied by the credit card fee. Credit card fees are estimated to be between $67,000 and $110,000. As summarized in Table 8, Initial Capital Costs are estimated to be between $2.2 million and $3.7 million. This includes the new TCS integration, IAG membership fee, and NYSTA development costs. Annual operating costs are estimated to be between $179,000 and $293,000. This includes IAG membership dues, maintenance costs, credit card fees, and NYSTA costs.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Table 8: Capital and Operating Costs

Capital Costs and Initial Fees Low New System by Integrator $ 1,688,100 IAG Membership Cost $ 125,000 NYSTA CSC Development Cost $ 237,000

Total

$

1st Year Total Costs Ongoing Annual Costs

$ $

$ $ $

2,050,100

Operating Costs and Annual Fees IAG Membership Annual Fees $ 17,500 TCS Maintenance Costs $ 20,000 Kapsch Maintenance Costs $ 10,000 Credit Card Fees $ 67,000 NYSTA Costs Communication Costs $ 15,000 Account Maintenance Costs $ 50,000 Total $ 179,500 2,229,600 179,500

High 2,614,650 125,000 662,000

$

3,401,650

$ $ $ $

17,500 30,000 15,000 110,000

$ $ $

20,000 100,000 292,500

$ $

3,694,150 292,500

Operational Considerations The introduction of ETC has the advantage of noticeably improving customer service and safety. ETC patrons would be allowed to “roll” through the toll plaza without physical exchanges with the toll collectors. This has the advantage of keeping focused on the road ahead, and not having to fumble for a trip card or cash, roll down windows, or put arms out. This is particularly a concern for the large truck operators, who have to reach down to exchange payment or sign receipts. Dedicated lanes would be available to passenger vehicles (classes 1-3) with high capacity throughput and elimination of queues. Mixed-mode payment lanes would also benefit due to decreased processing times of trucks with EZPass. (Note: Gates are envisioned as part of the implementation. The gates will serve as an enforcement measure, as well as used to control traffic during “Hold” operations). The gates will also serve to enforce spacing requirements of commercial trucks. Toll collectors would have touch screens to facilitate classification and method of payment entries. The major benefit to collectors is the elimination of swipe cards and need to print and track commercial charge account receipts. Accounting will be impacted with the introduction of E-ZPass. New tasks, currently not required would be introduced to maintain reconciliation between agencies. Methods would have to be developed to track toll files and match reports used to reconcile with agencies. Each agency sends files at different times of the month.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

There will be some limited opportunity to save costs due to the implementation of E-ZPass. This is primarily due to the increased capacity of E-ZPass transactions. Although the throughput analysis conducted as part of this feasibility phase estimates that most of the year could operate with only one staffed lane at each plaza, the TIBA has determined to stay with their current policy of maintaining two staffed lanes at all times due to reasons associated with security, ability to provide break times, and ability to handle the “hold” operations. A dedicated (unstaffed) E-ZPass lane would also provide added capacity during shift changes, when one of the staffed lanes is temporarily not available. However, there can be some savings during the peak season and days of the year when three staffed lanes were typically required. The estimates show that during these times, only two staffed lanes would be required if E-ZPass were to be implemented. Impacts to operations would also occur if “E-ZPass On-the-Go” tags are sold in the lanes or at the plaza (e.g. toll collector or plaza staff responsibilities, and audit). It is more likely that this function would move to either the Duty Free shops or other locations on Wellesley and Hill Islands. Revenue Considerations The preferred policies outlined in the Policy Elements Memorandum prepared as part of this Feasibility Phase should result fairly neutral revenues. Positive or negative revenue changes would be dependent on whether more or less patrons sign up and qualify for the discounts, which would only be available to E-ZPass patrons. The following is a recap of the proposed Discount and Rebate Programs. TIBA intends to maintain some form of discount for frequent users, local residents, and rebates for frequent commercial users. For purposes of this study the following have been assumed: • Only ETC users will be eligible for discounts. Users must register with the TIBA’s Customer Service Center (e.g. NYSTA CSC) for the applicable discount to be eligible. • No standard discount plan for ETC users. An example of a standard discount plan would be a flat 10% discount for any E-ZPass user such as the plan implemented at the Peace Bridge. • Class 1-3: 84% discount for registered accounts that make a minimum of 3 trips in a given month. (Rationale is current 72 trip card is valid for two years, which averages to 3 trips per month) • Class 4-10: The same rebate program as currently exists will be continued for registered accounts. Other Costs and Considerations If Alternative #1 is chosen for advancement, then there will be some other issues and costs that will be developed during the Implementation Study phase. These include the following: • Signs – A new sign program will need to be developed and implemented to guide and inform patrons Approach and Plaza Canopy signs in the US and Canada will be needed to properly inform and channelize traffic as to the appropriate lane designations. Toll operations would change due to the implementation of E-ZPass. Cars would have a choice of which lane to use, either a mixed-mode lane that accepts E-ZPass and cash, or a dedicated E-ZPass lane. Trucks would continue to be directed to the truck lanes, and would not have an option to use a dedicated lane.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Developing reasonable costs for the sign program are beyond the scope of this Feasibility Study phase due to the large range of alternative approaches and technologies. These costs will be developed during the Implementation Study phase if Alternative #1 is advanced. Furthermore, the Authority has indicated that the existing Variable Message Sign (VMS) on top of the US and Canadian Plaza canopies will need to be upgraded due to lack of parts for maintenance. The sign plan will need to coordinate with the Authority’s existing VMS upgrade. The costs for signs will likely add $200-$500 dollars to the implementation of Alternative #1. • Marketing – A marketing program is typically implemented to inform patrons of the changes in toll policies, rates and discounts, lane designations, and methods of payment. TIBA’s preferred approach to marketing, and associated costs, will also be developed during the Implementation Study phase if Alternative #1 is advanced. • Related Systems and Consultant Services – Other system upgrades, as well as design and consultant services are typically required throughout the implementation phase. These include such systems and services such as: • Structural system upgrades, including assessments and designs for signs and canopy components; • Mechanical and Electrical system upgrades, including assessments and designs for new primary and back-up loads, especially considering additional system components, ventilation and climate control requirements. • ETC System Consulting Services to assist with procurement documents, the bidding process, negotiations with the Customer Service Provider, coordination with E-ZPass Interagency Group, and system testing. Alternative #2 The upgrade of the existing system without ETC would meet the minimum requirements of a new system by replacing all components with new equipment, and adding functionality such as reporting capabilities, touch screen menus for the toll terminals, and proximity card technology to replace the card swipes currently used for trip cards and Commercial Charge Accounts. No changes or additional lane/plaza components would be required. Toll operations and toll accounting functions would basically continue as they currently operate. There would be no significant savings or additional operating costs. However, there would be some improved efficiencies gained due to the use of the touch screens, proximity cards, and accounting functions. There would also be less maintenance required, and parts and service would be readily available. The capital costs associated with this alternative are based on the 2012 TRMI proposal of approximately $1 million. While the system would have the ability to be upgraded in the future to accept ETC as a form of payment, there would need to be further extensive software and hardware upgrades. Software

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

upgrades would be required throughout the whole system including: lane controllers, toll terminal, host and plaza computers. Hardware upgrades would be required in the lanes to properly separate and indentify vehicles including subsystems known as Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) and Automatic Vehicle Classification (AVC). AVI components include the ETC antennas and readers. AVC components include vehicle separators (loop detectors, light curtains, and/or overhead laser scanners), height detectors (light beam), and axle counters (treadles). The existing treadles are likely the only components that can be re-used form the existing or proposed system. A future upgrade to include ETC is estimated to cost approximately $1-1.5 million dollars for the system itself, if and when implemented. There will also be other costs similar to Alternative # 1, such as the IAG costs, NYSTA CSC Development and operating costs, as well as costs associated with new signs, marketing program, and potential consulting and design services.

CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION Both alternatives will result in improved system reliability, performance, and functionality over the existing TCS. The following highlights the evaluation of each alternative. Alternative #1 This alternative would meet all the goals of the new TCS, including being interoperable with other North American toll agencies, and improving facilitation of bi-national trade. The other major benefit is improved customer service. Patrons, employees, and the general public would see a noticeable change in the way TIBA operates. They will perceive the TIBA as a progressive agency who cares about its customers and seeks to facilitate safe, efficient and secure travel. The alternative would require adjustments to current operations and traffic patterns. These include lane assignments and utilization, and accounting operations.

Alternative #2 This alternative would allow the TIBA to continue to operate as they do today with minor improvements in operating efficiency and traffic capacity, but major improvements in reliability. Accounting functions would also be noticeably improved. This alternative would allow for integration of ETC (i.e., E-ZPass) in the future with further upgrades to the system, but not require a full system replacement. However, this alternative does not meet the other objectives including being interoperable with other North American toll agencies, nor does it improve facilitation of bi-national trade until the ETC component is integrated. Without the ETC component operating costs would remain similar to today, as no noticeable improvements in traffic capacity would be provided. While the ability to add ETC in the future is part of TRMI’s proposal, there are risks associated with this approach such as lack of support for these future upgrades and additional costs to integrate ETC into the proposed system.

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Thousand Islands Bridge – Toll Collection System Feasibility Study Report

Next Steps • TIBA Board Meeting April 17, 2014 to confirm preferred alternative. • Develop Implementation Plan. Depending on the selected alternative, actions may include: o Refine and further develop the preferred system alternative o Determine policies and business rules o Identify other non-system requirements, such as signs o Develop marketing program o Revise cost estimates o Prepare preliminary system design for vendor solicitation/selection o Preliminary coordination with IAG o Preliminary coordination and negotiation with NYSTA for CSC services • Implementation. Depending on the selected alternative, actions may include: o Become member of IAG o Enter into agreement with NYSTA for CSC services, o Implement marketing plan o Select TCS vendor to develop, install, and integrate system including:  System design document to meet the preferred business rules and policies  System development and integration  System “factory” testing, typically at the vendor’s facility  System installation, lane testing, and cut-over  IAG reciprocity tests  Acceptance testing, typically a 30-day test with live traffic to verify performance specifications.

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