Versatility Intact

Any of the people involved in the transportation industry have found themselves wearing many different hats. Harold Worrall is no exception to this. In addition to serving as executive director of the Orlando-Orange County (Fla.) Express Authority, Worrall also serves on the board of directors for the International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association (IBTTA) and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA).

Having been involved in both the public and private sectors of the transportation industry for over 30 years, Worrall has gained impressive experience in engineering, finance as well as toll operations. He also has previously held management positions with four state departments of transportation.

In this interview with Transportation Management + Engineering, Worrall discusses his role in both the IBTTA and ITSA; how the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority E-PASS electronic toll collection program has increased the authority’s revenue; the unique relationship the authority has with the Florida DOT; and what the future holds for the electronic toll collection industry.

In order to familiarize yourself with the readers of TM+E, what is your role at the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority?

I am the executive director of the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority which is a system of roadways within and around the greater Orlando area. We currently have approximately 90 centerline miles of four- to six-lane expressway generating about $147 million this fiscal year.

As executive director I am responsible for the operations of the authority and report to a five-member board of directors.

Speaking of boards of directors, currently you serve on the board of directors for ITS America and as president of the International Bridge, Tunnel & Turnpike Association. Please compare and contrast your roles with the two organizations.

The roles of chairman of ITSA and president of IBTTA are quite different. ITSA has a large board of 40-plus members from very diverse segments involved in the intelligent transportation systems industry. Automobile manufacturers, telematics companies, consultants, state departments of transportation, local agencies, academia, other related associations and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Conversely, IBTTA is a very homogeneous membership of primarily toll operators and the industry that serves those operators. Providing direction and leadership in these two very different environments requires varying approaches.

A portion of TM+E subscribers are directly involved in the toll industry. What makes the IBTTA Annual Meeting a “must-attend” event?

The IBTTA annual meeting is a worldwide event. Members representing 25 countries will be attending and most of the attendees will be senior level staff and board members, people who make the decisions.

The exhibits will expose the innovative private sector products and services available to the toll industry, and the program will focus on the most significant developments over the last year in the toll industry.

Patrick Jones is now the executive director for IBTTA taking over for Neil Schuster who has moved on to become president and CEO of ITS America. Do you foresee the association taking on a new or expanded role within the toll industry?

Yes I do. The transition from an executive director with a long history at IBTTA to a new executive director has been very smooth. We are truly fortunate as an association to have had both of these outstanding professionals at the helm. Under both individuals’ guidance the IBTTA board has been moving toward increasing the membership of those outside North America. That process continues and the association is becoming more and more a truly worldwide organization.

We intend to also broaden our industry participation over the next few years as well.

Many programs are under way within IBTTA to continue our primary mission of information exchange and toll advocacy.

Managing the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and the E-PASS electronic toll collection program is a daunting task. What experiences can you share that may help your toll industry peers better operate their toll authority?

I hesitate to provide comments because the geographic, demographic, political and cultural factors vary so significantly from one operator to another. Clearly, one size does not fit all. Some concepts do seem to be universal.

First, several polls taken by our membership in various locations continue to indicate that the public does not mind paying tolls which are consistent with the benefit (time savings, safety, etc.) that is derived.

However, they do not want to stop or be delayed in doing so. They demand excellent service and convenience. The public perception of the agency is very important to their perceived value of the product.

Secondly, all toll agencies, whether public or private, are a business and must be run as such. There is a direct relationship between paying for a product and receiving the benefit. Decision-making must be framed in this context on a day-to-day basis for a toll agency to be successful over the long run.

Certainly, there are positive and negative experiences that go along with operating a toll authority as large as the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority. What have you learned from these experiences and how have they made the toll authority better?

The previous two questions have partially addressed this question.  By successfully implementing electronic toll collection, E-PASS, ensuring financial efficiency through refinancing and sound investment and marketing our product to our customer, we have increased our revenue stream by double-digit percentages over most of the 10 years that I have been involved.

Our customers consider themselves owners with a stake in our outcomes, and the community as a whole realizes the significant role we play in providing transportation in central Florida.

The Chicago Skyway Toll Road is currently exploring measures to lease its toll road to raise capital. Is this privatization something the toll industry will see more of in the future?

The world has been using predominantly private capital to develop toll motorways. The U.S. is the anomaly. Whether the U.S. decides to use more private capital is unknown.

Certainly, it has been done on a limited basis and there has been much discussion. However, the tax law and cultural bias against allowing the private sector to operate public facilities is very strong. I believe there is great promise in investing pension funds and public money in private ventures to develop needed transportation infrastructure.

Do working relationships exist between state DOTs and toll authorities or do they operate primarily separate from each other? Would a working relationship between the two organizations be beneficial?

Within the state of Florida there is a close working relationship between the state DOT and toll agencies. The Florida DOT of course has within its organization the Florida Turnpike Enterprise. These close working relationships greatly enhance our ability to develop toll motorways in Florida.

While I am not intimately familiar with the relations in other states, it would appear there is great variation.

I see our agency as an extension of the state department of transportation established by the legislature and the governor to focus on limited access, high-capacity facilities within the central Florida area. I see these relationships as vital to our success.

Electronic toll collection is changing the way the toll industry operates. What’s next on the horizon for the industry?

Open road tolling offers an increased time savings and more convenient experience to the customer and will certainly be a topic of discussion.

As mentioned before, however, one size does not fit all and the toll industry must be careful to ensure that revenues can be collected and that there are greater benefits to the customer and the agency.

Technological advances are always an issue. Some possibilities are global positioning and telephonic triangulation approaches. One only needs to know identification of the vehicle, location of the vehicle over time and toll rate to complete a toll transaction. Other technologies that have not yet been developed may eclipse ETC concepts as we know them today.     TME