Highways are an integral part of the American dream – they pass through the dramatic landscapes and legendary cities that have shaped the history of cinema and music. Every year, these roads serve an increasing number of drivers. To keep traffic flowing smoothly and guarantee high-quality service, VINCI Highways has developed internationally recognised expertise in digital toll transactions – know-how rewarded by two new contracts won in 2018 in Texas, the biggest market for this sector in the United States.

Austin, 7 pm. Ramsay is a little late leaving the office. He runs to his car, keen to get to Austin City Limits Live, the iconic concert hall in downtown Austin, as quickly as possible – he has to meet his wife at the entrance in 20 minutes. Ramsay immediately decides to take the MoPac, one of the main corridors serving the city. On this expressway, where charges vary between sections, you don’t have to stop to pay the toll – the car’s license plate number is automatically sent to a regional centre for payment. At 7.20 pm, Ramsay walks out of the car park with the tickets – they won’t miss the opening act.

VINCI Highways has been managing toll services for the MoPac expressway since it signed a contract with the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA), the independent government agency in charge of transport in central Texas. The agreement, signed in March 2018 for five years, awarded management of toll services and customer relations on five highways and expressways in the cities of Austin and Tyler to Cofiroute USA, a VINCI Highways subsidiary. The contract scope includes the very busy MoPac expressway and the toll lane on the SH 71 corridor for drivers heading to Austin International Airport. The network manages 30 million transactions per year – the system’s smooth operation is crucial for satisfactory traffic conditions on Texas roads and mobility services in general. To ensure operational excellence, VINCI Highways draws on the complementary skills of Cofiroute USA and TollPlus to provide a comprehensive service: from back-office management to customer relations, including data collection and the transmission of payments to the transport authorities. Also in Texas, in August 2018 TollPlus was selected by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), the agency in charge of toll systems in the north of the state, to design and manage an efficient back office. This sizeable network is able to handle up to 6 million transactions per day.

Digital toll services are a perfect fit with VINCI Concessions’ vision for developing the mobility of tomorrow. This vision is underpinned by three fundamental commitments: anticipating and managing constantly growing flows, on roads but also in airports; developing smart infrastructure – connected, communicating and learning – that can transmit useful maintenance and customer information; and lastly, continuously improving the driver experience, which today means delivering a mobility service of impeccable quality.