WASHINGTON – Drivers' use of toll roads, bridges and tunnels increased by 7% last year, a record-breaking rate of growth that puts tolling usage on pace to double in less than 10 years, according to a report.
A survey of 31 toll facilities showed that drivers took 5 billion toll trips with toll transactions, an increase of 328 million trips or 7% more than 4.7 billion in 2014. The results of the survey, which was conducted in February, appeared in the National Toll Facilities Usage Analysis report released Friday by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association.
The figures are important for the muni market and public-private partnerships because toll revenue often is used to back bonds and in P3 financings.
In the report, IBTTA found that 23 of the 31 toll authorities recorded the largest traffic volume in their history in 2015. All but one of the 31 toll facilities reported an increase in traffic volume last year, and ten registered double-digit percentage increases between 2014 and 2015.
IBTTA president and Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority Director Earl "Buddy" Croft III attributed the rise in toll facility use to increased traffic, toll safety, and time-saving electronic payment methods. There are more than 37 million electronic tolling accounts in the nation, according to IBTTA.
"From the research, it's clear that not only are more people traveling on our roads and bridges, but that toll road use has increased significantly," Croft said. "Clearly, drivers recognize the benefits of toll roads."
The IBTTA data is on par with a February study conducted by the Department of Transportation, which found that drivers traveled 3.1 trillion miles in 2015, a 3.3% increase from the previous year, when they traveled 3 trillion miles. That also made 2015 the most heavily traveled year in U.S. history.
The majority of toll facilities surveyed for the IBTTA study are in the northeast and southeast, including Florida's Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority and the North Carolina Department of Transportation, both which reported 25% increases in traffic volume in 2015, as well as the Interstate 495 express lanes in northern Virginia, where traffic rose 15%.
The Delaware Department of Transportation, Maine Turnpike Authority and Maryland Transportation Authority all recorded the busiest travel years in their histories in 2015, the study found.
The busiest tolling system was the Illinois Tollway System, which had 881.6 million toll transactions last year, compared to 838.3 million the previous year, a 5% increase. The next busiest was Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, which had 842 million of toll transactions in 2015, a 9% increase over 773 million in 2014.
All of the ten toll facilities that reported double-digit traffic increases in 2015 are in the southeast, southwest and west, as defined by the IBTTA.
"One of the more interesting findings is that while the northeast U.S. has the longest history with toll roads, ten toll authorities in the south and west showed the largest increase in trips and transactions," said IBTTA CEO and executive director Patrick D. Jones.
The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, an 84-year-old agency, provides data and information for owners and operators of toll facilities in 22 countries. A total of 35 states and territories have toll facilities, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
