Joe Waggoner CEO & Executive Director Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority
How are the revenues collected by tolls being used to benefit the community? The tolling business is built on the idea of how much time we can save a person on a trip. If we can save a person 15 minutes and that person makes $20 an hour, then that 15 minutes is worth $5 to them. That is not the toll we charge, but that is the basis upon which we do that valuation of a future revenue stream. The revenues collected are first and foremost used for the operation and maintenance of the roadway. This means keeping the roadway presentable, in good condition, with clear lines and working lights, thus ensuring the customer experiences a safe ride. We also use the funds to preserve the roadway. Depending on how much use that roadway receives, every 10 to 15 years we have to resurface the entire roadway, and 30 years we have to replace the bridge decks. In a sense, we are essentially rebuilding the facilities every time. We do not sell bonds to do this kind of work, that comes out of our revenues, so we have had to create a sinking fund to make sure we are taking care of this. What initiatives are you working on to advance the future of transportation? This agency is an early adopter. One project we are working on is our Connected Vehicle Pilot Project (CV). When we look at this tech, the big benefit we see is safety. When we talk about autonomous vehicles and connected infrastructure, there is an opportunity to cut the fatality rate significantly. We believe, if for that reason alone, we should be doing everything we can to get that technology out there sooner. We pursued the CV pilot with the federal government three years ago because we want to do what we can to make it happen sooner. We received a grant for $17 million and we added an extra $5 million to conduct this pilot project. We want to determine how the vehicle can communicate with that system and send out information to those other participants in that transportation environment to make it safer and to work more efficiently. 88 | Invest: Tampa Bay 2020 | TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS
( ) since 1990 and in November residents extended the program for the third time. Over that time, the funds have been used for a variety of projects across infrastructure, public safety and recreation. Notable projects are development of 15 stormwater drains, reconstruction of seawalls, bridges and sidewalks and allocation of funds to the emergency services for equipment and facilities. Other initiatives are also under fire. In November, engineering firm H.W. Lochner filed plans for the new 10.3-mile Central Avenue Bus Rapid Transit Project connecting Downtown St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg Beach. The entire project is estimated to cost $43.9 million and is slated to be live in 2020/2021 but has faced opposition from the city of South Pasadena and the city of St. Pete Beach. Airports Tampa International Airport generates $14.4 billion in economic impact every year, employing 10,500 people directly and supporting a further 121,000 indirectly. TPA topped its projections for passenger growth in fiscal year 2019, serving over 22 million passengers, up 5.5% on the previous period to a record high. The airport is also the 24th busiest in the United States. Of those busiest airports, Tampa International ranked 10th in terms of affordability, with an average fare of $308.88, compared with the most expensive Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) in Virginia, which came in at $427.37 and the cheapest McCarran International (LAS) at $240.35. According to JD Power, Tampa International also ranks very highly in terms of customer satisfaction among large airports with 10 million to 32.9 million passengers per year. Tampa scored 822 out of a possible 1,000 on its satisfaction index, coming in behind only Portland International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport. One of the reasons for the ranking was the affordability combined with options to fly to a wide range of locations, and Tampa International continues to expand its footprint. In October, Frontier Airlines announced new low-cost fares from Tampa to Atlanta starting at just $19 and in November, the same airline launched a non-stop service from Tampa to San Juan. At the end of last year, budget airline Norwegian announced the expansion of its TampaLondon service to three weekly flights in response to high demand. Spirit Airlines also launched new nonstop flights from Tampa to New York, Newark, New Jersey, Nashville and Indianapolis, taking its destination count from Tampa to 24 locations.
