Posted on 01/26/2005 5:06:47 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
A company selected to build a toll road from Dallas-Fort Worth to San Antonio has a reputation for aggressively collecting money from motorists, treating customers poorly and frequently raising tolls without public input.
Those are among the complaints lodged against Cintra -- selected in December to build the first leg of the Trans-Texas Corridor -- by motorists on the company's toll roads in Toronto and Chicago.
Across North America, private companies such as Cintra are spending billions of dollars to build roads in exchange for the right to collect tolls for 50 to 100 years -- relieving taxpayers of the financial burden.
But critics warn that some agencies may be giving up too much authority, blinded by the instant gratification of traffic relief.
"In some cases, because people were hungry to see something done to get a road built, they gave away the farm," said Alan Pisarski, a researcher and author of Commuting in America.
Some toll-road companies can raise tolls without a government hearing, or send collection agencies after drivers with past-due accounts.
Some even negotiate noncompete clauses into contracts so that governments cannot expand other freeways that might take business away from toll roads.
Just how much power Cintra will have is being negotiated behind closed doors in Austin. State officials say that within weeks they expect to sign a contract, known as a comprehensive development agreement, identifying Madrid, Spain-based Cintra as the lead agency, along with San Antonio's Zachry Construction Corp. and other minority partners.
Cintra has offered to build the 316-mile road for $6 billion -- all privately funded -- and pledged $1.2 billion more for the Texas Department of Transportation to use on state highways along the corridor. In exchange, Cintra gets to keep all tolls for 50 years.
With that much money at stake, a Cintra spokesman said, it's important for private toll-road operators to be able to set the agenda on their roads -- even if it means having unlimited authority to raise rates and go after deadbeats.
"The complaints about us represent one-3,000th of 1 percent of our total trips," said Dale Albers, a spokesman for Cintra's Toronto toll road. "We're not infallible, but it's nowhere near the complaints people have about car insurance."
In Canada, about 700 people have complained about aggressive collection tactics and rude or cold customer service at 407 Express Toll Route, Cintra's 67-mile toll road north of Toronto, said Mike Colle, a state parliament member. Colle has started an investigation into the complaints.
The road was built by Ontario's provincial government. In 1999, a group of private companies led by Cintra leased it for 99 years in exchange for a payment equivalent to $2.5 billion U.S.
Relatives of the late Mike Michenko thought it was a bureaucratic mistake when they received a bill months after his death showing he owed money for using the road.
According to the bill, which charged the equivalent of $11, someone had driven Michenko's vehicle on the road days after his death. The family disputed the charges, saying Michenko's car had not been out during that time, but Cintra insisted that his license number was recorded by a camera.
"His death wasn't enough for them," said Michenko's son, Brian. His father's account ballooned to $91 including late fees. "Now they want the money from my mother."
In recent years, about 300 full-time employees have been hired primarily to deal with complaints, Albers said.
"We take customer service seriously," he said. "We like to think we can respond quicker than government can."
But the Ontario parliament receives similar complaints by the dozen, Colle said.
"They're harassing people who are dead, people who have never driven on the highway or people who have been double-billed," Colle said. "If anything, they've gotten worse. Tolls have gone up 200 percent. People feel threatened, and they want the government to do something about it."
Ontario has filed several lawsuits attempting to gain some decision-making powers, including the right to veto toll increases, but courts generally have sided with Cintra, citing a 1999 contract signed by both parties.
In fact, Cintra is pushing for additional authority. The company has asked Ontario not to renew vehicle registrations for motorists who are behind on their toll payments, a request the government has declined.
In Chicago, Cintra took over the Chicago Skyway, a 7-mile bridge, late last year. The city, which built the bridge in the 1950s, was paid $1.8 billion for 99 years.
Before the documents were signed, Cintra and its partners, doing business as Skyway Concession, announced that the $2 toll would increase to $2.50 for cars and up to $11.80 for trucks.
"Everybody agrees the tollway needs money for repairs ... but to increase it by that much is shocking," said Bob Stranczek, president of Chicago-area Cresco Lines, which specializes in hauling steel. "Most of us operate under 1 to 3 percent profit margins. We don't have the money to pay these fees."
Other firms have also drawn the ire of motorists.
In California, a private company was placed in charge of SR 91 Express Lanes -- high-speed toll lanes running down a highway median from Anaheim to Riverside -- in the mid-1990s.
Later, the state wanted to expand the adjacent freeway, but the owner of the express lanes, California Private Transportation Co., objected on the grounds that faster freeway lanes would hurt toll-lane revenues. The company cited a noncompete clause in its contract.
So in 2003, the Orange County Transportation Authority paid $207 million to buy the express lanes from the company.
In Texas, privately funded roads are not new. The Plano-based North Texas Tollway Authority, a quasi-government agency, owns and operates several area toll roads, including the President George Bush Turnpike. The tollway authority can turn over delinquent accounts to either a collection agency or the Texas Department of Public Safety but usually doesn't take action until someone has ignored multiple requests for payment.
Texas officials said they can write language into their contract with Cintra that limits the company's power, although they declined to discuss specifics until the first document is finalized in coming weeks.
One concern is that the state will protect the toll roads, ensuring that private companies make a profit, while ignoring the needs of the rest of the state highway system.
"That's not the case," said Phillip Russell, director of the Texas Turnpike Authority Division, an arm of the Texas Department of Transportation. "It's still going to be a part of the state highway system."
Gov. Rick Perry has said he believes Texas will embrace privately funded toll roads and eventually consider them a bargain.
"I'm confident that the Texas Department of Transportation and the commissioners that are there have the professionalism, have the intellect and the ability to make sure that Texas has the best transportation system in the world, and at the most reasonable price," Perry said in a recent interview.
But from his parliamentary office in Toronto, Colle said: "My advice is to make sure motorists in Texas are protected against extraordinary tolling, and at least have input. I hope you don't follow our lead."
IN THE KNOW
Trans-Texas Corridor
• The Texas Transportation Commission is expected to form a Trans-Texas Corridor advisory committee Thursday to oversee and provide input into the state's decisions regarding toll roads and high-speed rail lines.
• For more information, call toll-free (877) 872-6789.
• In December, a consortium headed by Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte was selected to build the first portion of the corridor. The toll road will begin roughly in Denison, stretch around the east side of Dallas and run roughly parallel to I-35 near Waco, Austin and San Antonio.
• Madrid, Spain-based Cintra has an 85 percent stake in the toll road, and San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corp. has a 15 percent stake. Sixteen other companies will help with matters including design work and legal advice.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ONLINE: Trans-Texas Corridor, www.keeptexasmoving.com
Opposition site, www.corridorwatch.org
Gordon Dickson, (817) 685-3816 gdickson@star-telegram.com
"What "proprietary information" is involved in a road project? That's just weird."
I think it involves Cintra's ability to come up with innovate ways to shaft the drivers of Texas.
We'll all find out - soon enough.
(I am registered there, incidentally, but since I'm on a new computer I probably don't have the cookie to permit access)
Sorry for the trouble - here it is (note that it is a month old):
Perry defends aide's work for road firm
Shelley's appointment resurrects questions about Perry's staff and businesses
By Jason Embry
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Gov. Rick Perry's office on Wednesday defended Legislative Director Dan Shelley's recent role with a company that has won a major road contract with the state.
The Dallas Morning News reported that Shelley was a consultant for Spanish tollway operator Cintra until three months before the Texas Transportation Commission chose the company to lead construction of the first phase of the Trans-Texas Corridor. Shelley, a former legislator, was a government affairs consultant who was scheduled to be paid if the company won the contract, but he gave up his rights to that money when he went to work for Perry in September.
The commission awarded the contract to Cintra on Dec. 16.
Shelley's relationship with companies seeking state business also drew headlines nearly a decade ago. After Shelley left then-Gov. George W. Bush's office in 1996, he lobbied for Lockheed Martin Corp., which competed for a contract to help the government implement changes in the welfare system. As Bush's legislative liaison, he had helped guide into law the legislation creating that contract.
Perry has been criticized previously because a high-level staff member moved back and forth to the lobby. Mike Toomey, his former chief of staff, returned to his work as a lobbyist after leaving Perry's office and now is a registered representative for nine clients, according to the Texas Ethics Commission.
Perry spokesman Robert Black said the governor's office had no role in selecting Cintra to build the corridor. He said that Shelley's role with Cintra was to help the company determine whether it wanted to do business in Texas, where it had never worked before, and that he did not lobby for Cintra.
Perry prohibits staff members from lobbying his office for a year plus one legislative session after they leave. Shelley lobbied for other clients before joining Perry's staff. Perry does not require lobbyists to wait a certain amount of time before they go to work for him.
Suzy Woodford, executive director of Common Cause in Texas, said Perry should avoid situations that appear to make his staff beholden to businesses.
"You can't legislate every ethic, everything to preclude this kind of situation," she said. "You really have to have people in leadership positions that say, 'I don't think this passes the smell test, and so I'm not going to hire this person.'"
Shelley's experience highlights the close ties that often exist among lobbyists, state officials and businesses. Two of his recent lobbying clients, for instance, Lockheed Martin and ACS State & Local Solutions, are helping underwrite a reception for Perry in Washington next month.
The Morning News reported that Shelley began consulting for Cintra in December 2003, about three months after the company was named one of three possible contractors for the corridor. When Shelley joined Perry's staff nine months later, his lobbying firm did not take over the Cintra contract.
The corridor plan is Perry's long-term vision to build 4,000 miles of toll roads, rail and utility lines across Texas. A consortium led by Cintra plans to build and pay for a $6 billion turnpike from San Antonio to north of Dallas. The companies will throw in $1.2 billion for other state transportation projects as part of the 50-year deal, during which it will keep toll revenues.
Ed Pensock, director of corridor development for the state transportation department, said the governor's office had no role in the selection of the Cintra-led group. Department employees recommended that group to transportation commissioners.
Shelley joined Bush's staff in 1995. A few months after he left Bush's office, he began lobbying for Lockheed Martin, which was vying for a $2 billion state contract that ultimately was never awarded.
Black, who said Shelley was not giving interviews Wednesday, said Perry chose him because of his experience as a lawmaker and an aide to Bush and because he has a good relationship with the Legislature.
"Gov. Perry has hired individuals who have vast experience in particular areas, whether they be policy or press or legal, and his goal is to get the best and brightest in here," he said.
Shelley may not have any current ties to Cintra, but I'd be curious to see if his bank account has had any recent large deposits.
Most people are smart enough to avoid things like that.
But maybe the yacht and airplane parked in his front lawn will give it away.
Answer: Adjust the gas tax. It is a user fee for which people who drive more, pay more. It is also a fee people across the state will pay, not just in the cities like Austin and Houston. A gas tax increase -if needed, is equitable and fair and will be paid by all who transit the State as well as the locals.
Not any more socialist than people in Midland driving on State highways funded with my and your gas tax. Whats the difference? I'm not asking for anything.
Trajan88; TAMU Class of '88
tell that to governor perry.
he and his staff pushed thru' cintra, a spanish firm.
cintra has a notorious record of high prices in canada and in california on the 91 freeway (now sold).
Time to bring on the Fighting Farmer lobby... to halt the bad karma that surrounds the land of the burnt orange (aka Austin).
Trajan88; TAMU Class of '88
What's wrong with the model that built the state roads we drive on today? 17 cents a mile is like a $3.40 per gallon TAX. A 5-10 cent/gal tax will more than pay for the roads we need. Whats the source of your audit figures? I would honestly like to read them. If you are right, then I'll switch sides on the issue.
Read power points here:
http://www.firericwilliamson.com
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