Traffic on Major U.S. Toll Road Systems Achieves Strong Recovery Toward Pre-COVID-19 Levels

Rhea-AI Summary

Conduent's analysis reveals a significant recovery in toll road traffic volumes, showing only an 8.7% year-over-year decline in November 2020, a substantial improvement from the 50% drop recorded in April 2020. This rebound aligns with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and proactive measures by tolling agencies. However, traffic trends remain volatile, with slight year-over-year declines in October and November. In 2019, Conduent managed over 4 billion toll transactions, representing more than 50% of major toll systems in the U.S.

Positive

• Traffic volumes have recovered significantly from a 50% decline in April to just 8.7% in November 2020, indicating a rebound in road usage.
• States are lifting COVID-19 restrictions, positively impacting toll revenue chances for infrastructure funding.
• The shift towards cashless transactions supports safer toll collection methods.

Negative

• Traffic volume recovery peaked in September and has shown slight declines in October and November, indicating potential volatility heading into 2021.

Analysis by tolling leader Conduent Transportation shows total traffic volumes down by just 8.7 percent in November 2020, compared with 2019, largely recovering from the 50 percent decline experienced in April 2020

Traffic volume data closely follows pandemic trends and reopening of communities, as well as proactive steps by toll systems

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Dec. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After the COVID-19 pandemic caused toll road traffic volumes to drop by approximately 50 percent year over year in April 2020, traffic volumes on several of the nation’s largest toll road systems have recovered to an 8.7 percent year-over-year decline in November, according to an analysis of data usage from Conduent Transportation, a unit of Conduent Incorporated (Nasdaq: CNDT). These volumes include electronic toll transactions using a transponder and license plate images captured for toll-by-mail programs.

The gains in traffic volumes are a reflection of states lifting COVID-19-related restrictions since spring, as well as efforts by state and local tolling agencies to encourage road usage by motorists, according to Conduent, the industry leader in automated or electronic tolling across the United States. The company is also supporting clients as more transportation agencies shift to all-cashless transactions, which eliminates the handling of currency and limits exposures.

Traffic trends could remain volatile heading into 2021. For example, the traffic volume recovery peaked in September, but year-over-year declines widened slightly in October and November.

Conduent manages road usage charging, parking, public transit and traffic safety systems for government clients globally. In 2019, Conduent managed more than 4 billion U.S. toll road transactions for transportation agencies, representing more than 50 percent of total motorist transactions among the 15 largest toll road systems in the nation by traffic volume. Conduent’s analysis of 2020 toll road trends encompasses six of the 10 largest toll systems in the U.S., including systems in California, Florida, New Jersey and New York. Combined these systems averaged nearly 270 million motorist transactions per month in 2019.

According to the analysis of 2020 toll traffic versus 2019 levels:

• After year-over-year gains of 6.2 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively, in January and February, traffic volumes declined in March to 12 percent below 2019 levels.
• This year-over-year traffic decline continued dramatically to low points of approximately 50 percent in April and 37.1 percent in May below 2019.
• Since April, traffic improved significantly, flattening to declines of 16.2 percent in June and 16.7 percent in July versus 2019.
• The year-over-year declines narrowed to 10 percent in August and 2.4 percent in September, and declined 7.1 percent in October.

“The recovery in toll traffic on U.S. road systems from the steep declines in the spring shows the impact of states lifting restrictions that kept people off roads and highways and away from local businesses and workplaces,” said Scott Doering, Vice President and General Manager, Road Usage Charging at Conduent Transportation. “The volume improvement is also a result of actions taken by tolling agencies to encourage motorists to get back on the road. While traffic could remain volatile due to broader pandemic trends, the recovery so far has been positive for states that often rely on toll revenue to fund transportation infrastructure improvements.”

According to Doering, proactive steps states have taken to increase road usage included temporary moratoriums on toll charges, suspension of administrative and/or late fees, and the overall shift to cashless transactions.

About Conduent
Conduent delivers mission-critical services and solutions on behalf of businesses and governments – creating exceptional outcomes for its clients and the millions of people who count on them. Through our dedicated people, process and technology, Conduent solutions and services automate workflows, improve efficiencies, reduce costs and enable revenue growth. It’s why most Fortune 100 companies and over 500 government entities depend on Conduent every day to manage their essential interactions and move their operations forward.

Conduent’s differentiated services and solutions improve experiences for millions of people every day, including two-thirds of all insured patients in the U.S., 10 million employees who use its HR Services, and nearly 18 million benefit recipients. Conduent’s solutions deliver exceptional outcomes for its clients, including $17 billion in savings from medical bill review, up to 40% efficiency increase in HR operations, up to 27% reduction in government benefits costs, up to 40% improvement in finance, accounting and procurement expense, and improved customer service interaction times by up to 20% with higher end-user satisfaction. Learn more at www.conduent.com.

Media Contacts:
Neil Franz, Conduent, +1-301-820-4324, neil.franz@conduent.com

Investor Relations Contacts:
Alan Katz, Conduent, +1-973-526-7173, alan.katz@conduent.com
Rebecca Koar, Conduent, +1-862-308-7105, rebecca.koar@conduent.com

Note: To receive RSS news feeds, visit www.news.conduent.com. For open commentary, industry perspectives and views, visit http://twitter.com/Conduent, http://www.linkedin.com/company/conduent or http://www.facebook.com/Conduent.

Conduent is a trademark of Conduent Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6970c1b9-a246-4e38-9ec0-746fd7d8fcf7

FAQ

What does the recent analysis by Conduent reveal about traffic volumes?

The analysis shows a recovery in traffic volumes, with only an 8.7% decline in November 2020 compared to 2019.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact toll road traffic in 2020?

The pandemic caused a 50% decline in toll road traffic in April 2020, but traffic improved significantly by November.

What proactive measures have tolling agencies taken?

Tolling agencies implemented measures like temporary toll moratoriums and a shift to cashless transactions to boost traffic.

How many toll transactions did Conduent manage in 2019?

Conduent managed over 4 billion toll transactions in 2019, accounting for more than 50% of major U.S. toll systems.

What is the outlook for traffic trends in 2021?

Traffic trends are expected to remain volatile, influenced by the broader pandemic situation.