MDTA projects stable near‑term toll revenue but flags out‑year debt coverage risks; agency pushes for broader E‑ZPass adoption
February 23, 2024 | Public Safety, Transportation, and Environment Subcommittee, Budget and Taxation Committee, SENATE, SENATE, Committees, Legislative, Maryland
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The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) and Department of Legislative Services briefed the subcommittee on an operating budget projected at $566.4 million and a capital program of roughly $3.1 billion over the six‑year period.
DLS analyst Carrie Cook said MDTA is self‑sustaining, covering operations and capital with toll and concession revenues, and reported E‑ZPass use at about 86% of tolls collected. The authority’s six‑year financial forecast shows increasing debt and shrinking annual cash surpluses that push certain board policy and legal financial standards close to or past thresholds in the late 2020s (notably debt service coverage and unencumbered cash requirements).
MDTA leadership described recent customer‑facing improvements: a mobile payment app, a proactive transponder replacement program, and enhanced customer outreach. The authority also refinanced bonds, achieving immediate savings and reducing some portfolio risk.
Committee members pressed MDTA on police and civilian vacancy levels (police vacancies cited near 20%), apprenticeship pilots (a cybersecurity apprenticeship with Community College of Baltimore County and a zero‑emission bus apprenticeship with the Amalgamated Transit Union), and local concerns about tolling effects on truck routing and neighborhood diversion. MDTA leadership said it will pursue coordinated engagement with counties and transportation partners and intends to keep pushing E‑ZPass adoption and interoperability measures to reduce administrative costs and customer confusion.
The authority acknowledged long‑term financing pressures and said it will continue to refine revenue projections and capital timing to preserve credit metrics and service objectives.
DLS analyst Carrie Cook said MDTA is self‑sustaining, covering operations and capital with toll and concession revenues, and reported E‑ZPass use at about 86% of tolls collected. The authority’s six‑year financial forecast shows increasing debt and shrinking annual cash surpluses that push certain board policy and legal financial standards close to or past thresholds in the late 2020s (notably debt service coverage and unencumbered cash requirements).
MDTA leadership described recent customer‑facing improvements: a mobile payment app, a proactive transponder replacement program, and enhanced customer outreach. The authority also refinanced bonds, achieving immediate savings and reducing some portfolio risk.
Committee members pressed MDTA on police and civilian vacancy levels (police vacancies cited near 20%), apprenticeship pilots (a cybersecurity apprenticeship with Community College of Baltimore County and a zero‑emission bus apprenticeship with the Amalgamated Transit Union), and local concerns about tolling effects on truck routing and neighborhood diversion. MDTA leadership said it will pursue coordinated engagement with counties and transportation partners and intends to keep pushing E‑ZPass adoption and interoperability measures to reduce administrative costs and customer confusion.
The authority acknowledged long‑term financing pressures and said it will continue to refine revenue projections and capital timing to preserve credit metrics and service objectives.
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