Skip to main content

More Americans relying on toll roads, says report

A new report issued by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) in advance of the busy Fourth of July holiday travel season indicates that as Americans take to the roads this summer they will more often choose toll roads to get them to their destinations than in years past. The report, 2015 Report on Tolling in the US, reveals that the number of trips drivers have taken on tolls roads has increased 14 per cent over the last four years, rising from 5 billion trips in 2011 to 5.7 b
July 3, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A new report issued by the 3804 International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) in advance of the busy Fourth of July holiday travel season indicates that as Americans take to the roads this summer they will more often choose toll roads to get them to their destinations than in years past.

The report, 2015 Report on Tolling in the US, reveals that the number of trips drivers have taken on tolls roads has increased 14 per cent over the last four years, rising from 5 billion trips in 2011 to 5.7 billion in 2015. Additionally, the 831 Federal Highway Administration shows a 9 per cent increase in the miles of toll roads in the US from 5,431 miles in 2011 to over 5,932 miles as of 2013.

The report also shows that Americans continue to embrace new technologies being developed by the tolling industry, including all-electronic tolling (AET). With AET there is no waiting in long lines, idling in traffic or throwing money in a basket.

In fact, the findings show there are 37 million electronic toll accounts across the US. This is an increase of 20 per cent in the past five years. For nearly every account, there are multiple drivers, doubling the number of drivers using all-electronic tolling regularly.

“Our report shows drivers and policymakers alike are continuing to see the benefits of toll roads now located in 34 states throughout the country,” said Patrick D. Jones, executive director and CEO of IBTTA. “Throughout this summer’s driving season, more reliable trip times and overall improved mobility provided by well-maintained and well-designed toll roads are providing drivers the premium benefits they seek.”

The report also reveals that the fatality rate on toll roads is about one-third the rate of all US roads, or 1.47 per 100 million vehicle miles travelled.

One major reason for the improved safety on toll roads is because they are typically operated centrally on a 24-hour basis from modern operations centres linked to dedicated maintenance, emergency response and police personnel. In fact, more than $14 billion in capital investment was made over three years by the top 40 US toll facilities.

Related Content

  • January 25, 2018
    Enforcement ensures equity for toll road users
    All-electronic tolling boosts traffic flow but introduces the tricky question of enforcement. Workable solutions are starting to emerge. Enforcement is an essential part of tolling and one of the most important ways for a mobility agency to keep faith with its investors, its community stakeholders and the vast majority of its users. It can also be one of the most unpopular and contentious things a toll authority has to undertake. If tolling is about paying for the roads, then everyone has to pay their
  • July 14, 2016
    IBTTA to host summit on the future of tolling
    The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) is to host an international summit on the future of tolling, attended by with some of the world’s top transportation and mobility experts. The summit, All-Electronic Tolling (AET), Managed Lanes and Interoperability Summit: Technology and Business of Innovative Tolling”, co-hosted by New England Toll Operators (NETO), will be held on 24-26 July in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Marriott Copley Plaza. Keynote speaker, David L. Strickl
  • February 17, 2016
    CBO report on federal highway spending ‘a breath of fresh air’ says IBTTA
    The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) applauds a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, Approaches to Making Federal Highway Spending More Productive, which examines the economic advantages of tolling as one means of funding the nation’s highway system.
  • June 26, 2018
    Fasten your seatbelts: it’s going to be a bumpy ride
    A spat has broken out between two major US transportation organisations over how best to pay for road use: the ATA says tolls are ‘fake funding’ while IBTTA has scorned ‘scare tactics and falsehoods’… Much has been made of the state of US roads: everyone agrees that funding is needed – but who should pay? And how? Chris Spear, president and CEO of American Trucking Associationsm(ATA), believes finance is facing a cliff edge: the Highway Trust Fund (HTF), historically the primary source of federal revenue