ETC will operate a local customer service center
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (June 25, 2021) – The Joint Board for the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project met today and approved a resolution to confirm and ratify the selection of a new toll services provider (TSP) for the RiverLink tolling system. Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC (ETC) is expected to begin operating the customer service center and back office services by July 1, 2023.
ETC will operate a local customer service center (back office operations). A specific location has yet to be determined, but requirements call for the center to be within a 15-mile radius of the Abraham Lincoln Bridge that connects downtown Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indiana. The number of jobs is yet to be determined. Monthly performance requirements will be in place. ETC will staff accordingly to meet or exceed those requirements.
There will be an extended amount of overlap for customer service and back office services with the current TSP, Kapsch TrafficCom USA, Inc. (TSP1). That will allow for coordination, account-data migration and a seamless transition for customers.
Customers will not be impacted by the transition, but they should expect improvements and efficiencies in the customer experience with the new and updated services. All points of RiverLink contact (two customer service centers, website, email and phone) will remain the same for customers until the new provider is in place in 2023.
ETC (TSP2) is expected to have notice to proceed next month. The 10-year contract includes development and implementation of new services and seven years of toll service operations. The total contract price is estimated to be $79.3 million.
Customer and back office services include image review, invoicing and customer service representatives at the call center and local customer service centers.
TSP1 will continue to operate roadside services include installing, operating and maintaining the roadside equipment that is used to capture crossings on tolled bridges and determine vehicle classification (number of axles and vehicle height).
The Joint Board approved the separation of toll services in June 2020. It’s a practice being used by more tolling systems to offer increased competition, opening the process to more potential providers and resulting in greater checks and balances between the two. The separation allows each provider to focus on the services it does best and is expected to provide more flexibility for the tolling system.
Nine firms submitted proposals for TSP2 services in December 2020 and interviews, proof of concept and a best and final offer followed. ETC emerged as the apparent best value for TSP2 services.
Joint Board
The Joint Board includes transportation and finance leaders from Indiana and Kentucky. It’s made up of the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) commissioner, the Indiana public finance director, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet secretary and the Kentucky Public Transportation Infrastructure Authority (KPTIA) chairman, or their designees.
The Joint Board was created to have long-term oversight and management responsibility for the Ohio Rivers Bridges Project. Bi-state tolling representatives handle the day-to-day administration of the tolling system.
Note: The resolution from the meeting is posted at RiverLink.com: https://riverlink.com/about/joint-board/.