New York’s tolling authorities received the prestigious 2021 Toll Excellence President’s Award for Innovation from the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) for a mobile app developed with Conduent Transportation.
The award, presented at last week’s IBTTA Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Anaheim, California, recognizes the team’s Tolls NY app, which allows customers to easily manage their tolling payments and E-ZPass accounts from their smartphone. The app also helps facilitate the use of automated, cashless tolling, which reduces traffic congestion and harmful emissions caused by idling vehicles.
The project is led by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in collaboration with the New York State Thruway Authority, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Conduent. As the leading system and services provider for the state’s tolling programs for nearly 30 years, Conduent designed the app to give customers the best user experience available.
Launched in 2020, the Tolls NY app recently reached the milestone of 1 million downloads and has thus far collected more than $70 million in payments from E-ZPass and Tolls-by-Mail customers. From the convenience of a smartphone, drivers can check their New York E-ZPass account balances, add funds, set up automatic payments, and update their profiles with information such as address changes or new vehicle tags. They can also view their toll and payment histories.
“The fact we hit the 1 million download mark in less than a year speaks to the app’s effectiveness, and to be acknowledged by IBTTA with such a prestigious award is an honor, especially considering the impressive field of contenders,” says Daniel DeCrescenzo, Jr., president of MTA Bridges and Tunnels. “I would like to thank Conduent and our other partners for delivering a project that has been a hit with our customers and motorists throughout the New York City region.”
IBTTA is a worldwide association for the owners and operators of toll facilities and the businesses that serve them. It currently has members in 23 countries on six continents.
“This award represents our successful, three-decades-long partnership with the New York tolling authorities, as well as our strategy to advance technologies and solutions to create smarter cities,” says Mark Brewer, group president, Transportation Solutions at Conduent. “Designed to meet customer needs and expand self-service options, the Tolls NY app also enables real-time communication with millions of drivers using cashless tolling. We worked closely with the agencies to provide a unified, first-class experience for users.”
As a tolling industry leader, Conduent Transportation currently operates six of the 10 largest toll systems in the US, including systems in California, Florida, New Jersey and New York. The company is also modernizing and maintaining the Ohio Turnpike’s toll collection system, and it recently announced an expansion in the UK and Europe with a road usage charging contract from Highways England, now called National Highways. Last month, Conduent announced it was selected by the Virginia Department of Transportation to design, implement and operate express tolling lanes along Interstate 64 in the Hampton Roads region of the state.
