Transcript
Page 1: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority

Restoring Trust Protecting Revenue Peg Terry

Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Page 2: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Triborough Bridge and Tunnel AuthorityBackground Information

• 1933 – Created

• 1968 – Joined MTA

• 9 tolled crossings in NYC• 7 bridges, 2 tunnels

• 310M transactions in 2017

• Generates toll surplus: • $1.9 billion in toll revenue

• $1.1 billion in transit support

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Page 3: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Cashless Tolling:Cautious to Cashless in Less Than a Year

3

• E-ZPass early adopter with gated lanes at all but HHB until 1/2017

• Gateless in 1/2011 and cashless in 11/2012 at HHB

• Cashless at remaining 8 facilities from 1/2017 to 9/30/2017

Gated

E-ZPass Lanes

1996 to Sept. 2017

(HHB gateless

Jan. 2011)

TBTA President

Michael Ascher

Henry Hudson Bridge

Cashless

Nov. 2012

MTA Chairman

Jay Walder

NY Crossings

Project

Jan. 2017 to Sept. 2017

N.Y. Governor

Andrew Cuomo

Page 4: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

What We Didn’t Account For: A Loss of Customer Trust

Problem

• High E-ZPass violation rate

• High E-ZPass complaint volume

Result

• Lost trust of E-ZPass customers

• Lost trust of elected officials

Goal

• Regaining customer confidence

• Protect revenue and support to transit

Solution

• Help customers avoid violations and fees

• Improve customer service

4

Page 5: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

An Unpleasant Surprise: A Surge in E-ZPass Violations

• Unlike tiny violation rate at Henry Hudson Bridge

• 0.4% at HHB for 2016 violations as of 12/31/2017

• Unlike low violation rate in gated E-ZPass lanes

• 160,000 retained CSC tags in 2016

• 1,646,000 E-ZPass violations in 2017

5

0.00%

0.20%

0.40%

0.60%

0.80%

1.00%

1.20%

1.40%

1.60%

1.80%

Violation Rate as of Feb 2018

Page 6: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

A Rude Awakening:E-ZPass Violation Complaints and Calls Spike

• More and longer E-ZPass violation

calls at Customer Service Center

(CSC)

• More E-ZPass violation complaints

• 1.5/month average in 2016

• 4.75/month average in 2017

• 55/month average in 2018

• Proposed legislation

• Violation fee amnesty

• Caps on violation fees

6

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000Customer Service Center Call Volume

2018

2017

Page 7: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

The Three Types of E-ZPass Violators

Low Information Customers

“I thought I’d get a toll bill”

Can be taught

Victims

“But I mailed my payment”

Benefit from better customer service

Cheaters

“Stop me if you can”

Need to be deterred while others not unduly punished

7

Page 8: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Explaining the Surge in E-ZPass Violations

• Low information: • No toll bills for negative balance violations• Didn’t think to “bag their tags”

• Most violations from negative balances• At risk accounts without automatic replenishment • Declined or rejected payment methods

• Absence of in-lane feedback• Gates• Low balance lights• Tag retention

• Retaining tags lowered violations in region

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Page 9: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Complaints Reveal The Reasons

• Performance problems at Customer Service Center

• Long call wait times• Terminated calls• Untimely violation payment

processing• Late violation notices • Not meeting performance

standards

• Willing to pay tolls but not violations

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0:00

1:00

2:00

3:00

4:00

5:00

6:00

7:00

8:00

Ja

n-1

7

Feb

-17

Mar-

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Ap

r-1

7

May-1

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Ju

l-1

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Oct-

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v-1

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Dec-1

7

Ja

n-1

8

Feb

-18

Mar-

18

Min

ute

s

Average CSC Phone Call Wait Times

General E-Zpass Call Unit

Violations Call Unit

Page 10: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Old Focus:E-ZPass is the solution, not the problem

• Widened the gap between cash or

Tolls by Mail and E-ZPass

• Easier for customers to switch to E-

ZPass

• Pay Per Trip to pay tolls daily from

checking account

• MTA Reload Card to replenish

account with cash at retail outlets

• 1 million On-the-Go tags sold in lanes,

now at DMV

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Page 11: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

A Critical Piece: E-ZPass Market Share

11

73% 74% 74%75%

77%

80%81%

84% 84%86% 86%

94%

60%

80%

100%

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

(End of Year)

Page 12: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Old Focus: Switch to E-ZPass and Save

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• “Save money with E-ZPass” TV ad

• Multi-media, multi-lingual

• Print, radio, website and social media

advertising

• Cash lane handouts and door knob

hangers

• Direct mail and E-ZPass statement

inserts

• Pop-ups at public libraries, street fairs

and shopping centers

Page 13: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Old Focus: How to Avoid Toll Bills

• “Mount your tags to avoid toll bills” email blast

13

Page 14: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

New Focus:Helping Avoid Negative Balances

• Credit Card Updater Program

• Transaction 10-day retry policy

• Low balance emails and texts

• Account maintenance alerts• Mail, email and text• Declined or rejected cards• Rejected ACH payments

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Page 15: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

New Focus: Account Management Education

• Promote enrollment in mobile alerts

• Low balance alerts

• Information about credit or debit cards

• Educate customers about account management

• Replenish account after inadvertent violations

• Consider automatic replenishment

• “Next: “Bag Your Tag” campaign

• Includes read prevention bag

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Page 16: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Mobile AlertsEmail and Inserts

Page 17: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Avoid E-ZPass Violations - Print

Page 18: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

E-ZPass ViolationsEmail & Insert

Page 19: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

New Focus:Improved CSC Customer Service and Oversight

• Strengthening customer service at CSC• Added staff and redistributed call overflow to Endicott

• Improved call line capacity

• Improving timeliness of violation notices

• New performance standard for violation payment processing

• Developing new tools to track CSC customer satisfaction

• Next: improved online access to E-ZPass account data

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Page 20: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Old Focus:Violation fees are the solution, not the problem

• $50 violation fee effective in 2011

• Violations to deter toll evasion and protect revenue and support to transit

• Works as intended at HHB with low tolls and no trucks

• Too soon to tell for last three facilities with higher tolls and trucks

• Increased violation fee to $100 in 2017• Kept $50 fee for HHB and Rockaway Bridges

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Page 21: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

New Focus:Teaching customers to avoid violations and fees

• New 30-day grace period for first E-ZPass violation• No fee if tolls paid within 30 days

• Better than sending toll bills to E-ZPass violators

• Minor impact on revenue

• Better than fee amnesty program or capped fees

• Pilot to measure how it educates customers, deters toll evasion and protects revenue recovery

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Page 22: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

New Focus:Educating customers through the violation notice and direct outreach to at risk customers

• Revised 1st notice and added insert

• Avoid violation fees by paying tolls within 30 days

• Direct mail to at risk customers

• Reminders about automatic replenishment and mobile alerts

• Customer card

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Page 23: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

E-ZPass Customer Card

Page 24: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Are We Regaining Customer Trust?

• Too soon to tell, but some signs are good• Only 6 months after agency-wide Cashless Tolling• Brand new fee policy change

• In the Legislature• Fee amnesty and capped fees not in the Budget• Session extends to end of June

• Developing metrics and baselines, tracking performance and responding as needed

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Page 25: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

E-ZPass Violation-Related Customer Complaints

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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1/2/2018 1/30/2018 2/27/2018 3/27/2018

Weekly E-ZPass Violation Related Complaints

Page 26: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Tangible Service Improvements at CSC

• Marked improvement in call wait times

January

2018

March

2018

Percent

Decrease

E-ZPass

Related

Calls

416

seconds

16

seconds96%

Violation

Related

Calls

436

seconds

10

seconds98%

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Page 27: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Tracking Account Management Indicators

• Big jump in sign-ups for mobile

alerts in 2017 and 2018

• For others, track against 1/2018

baseline• 79% with automatic replenishment• 5% decline rate for credit cards• 3% decline rate for debit cards

• Slow, uneven rise in MTA Reload

Card use

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-

25,000

50,000

75,000

100,000

125,000

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 YTD2018

Mobile Alert Sign Ups By Year

Page 28: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Cash Replenishments with MTA Reload Card

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0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Page 29: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Measuring E-ZPass Violation Rates

29

0.00%

0.20%

0.40%

0.60%

0.80%

1.00%

1.20%

1.40%

1.60%

1.80%

February 2018 (CR)

April 2018 (RAAS)

Page 30: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Developing New Payment Metrics

• Developing new metrics for payments:• Used overall violation rates for HHB, with low initial rate and

steady improvement over time

• Need “snapshots” to make month to month comparisons

• Assembling baseline data for 3/2018:• Percentage of tolls paid after 1st violation notice

• Percentage of tolls and fees paid after 2nd notice

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Page 31: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

Measuring Revenue Recovery

• On average, 6 months to achieve 100% revenue recovery• Faster at the Henry Hudson Bridge• Slower at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, with one-way tolling

• Overall revenue recovery as of February 2018• 102% recovered for transactions from 1/2017 to 8/2017• 95% of all tolls and 7% of all fees paid

• Total support for transit depends on revenue recovery

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Page 32: International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike …...advertising •Cash lane handouts and door knob hangers •Direct mail and E-ZPass statement inserts •Pop-ups at public libraries,

In Sum, Expect the Unexpected

• Keep educating your customers – before, during and after

• Develop “snapshot” performance standards and track them over time

• Be prepared to pivot

• Cashless Tolling is not just a construction or technology project; it is a people project

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