2026 AGENDA

-
Registration and Welcome Refreshments
-
Chair's Opening Remarks
-
Reauthorization Countdown: What the Next Federal Surface Bill Must Deliver for Tolling, ITS, and Road Pricing
  • What agencies and industry need locked in by September 30, 2026 (authority, funding certainty, delivery rules)
  • The “must-have” federal enablers: interoperability, enforcement tools, data governance, and audibility
  • A practical 12-month roadmap for programs and suppliers to align with the next cycle
-
Federal Programs and Grant Pathways: Turning Pilots into Deployable, Repeatable Models
  • What the first year-plus has proven: operations, boundary conditions, exemptions, and customer communications
  • Enforcement lessons: plate integrity, dispute handling, evasion controls, and due process
  • What other cities can lift immediately: governance and delivery sequencing
-
Implementation Playbook: From RUC “Policy” to RUC “Operating Model”
  • What implementation actually requires: governance, customer support, audit, and vendor management
  • Privacy and trust: minimization, retention rules, transparency, and independent assurance
  • Designing for scale: how to keep future multi-state compatibility achievable
-
Enhancing Traffic Flow using Existing Geometry: The East Selmon Slip Ramp Project
  • Overcoming right of way constraints
  • Phasing construction to accelerate improvements
  • Reversible lane technology
-
Morning networking break
-
Panel Discussion: Road Pricing Without Backlash — Equity, Discounts, Trust, and Legitimacy
  • Equity design that withstands scrutiny: who pays, who is protected, and how impacts are measured
  • Trust-building in the real world: engagement that reduces heat rather than amplifying it
  • Turning opposition into durable consent: what to lock in early (and what to avoid)
-
Commercial Vehicles Are Not “Just Bigger Cars”: Freight-Proof Charging and Pricing
  • Compliance reality: how freight’s reporting environment changes what is feasible
  • Avoiding fragmentation: the risks of inconsistent, state-by-state requirements for fleets
  • A practical approach: charging models that protect commerce while meeting infrastructure goals
-
Case Study: DC Region Managed Lanes — What’s Working Operationally (and What Isn’t)
  • Dynamic pricing and reliability: the KPIs that matter for agencies and operators
  • Customer experience: signage, expectations, disputes, and “surge” perception management
  • Integrating managed lanes with corridor operations: incident response, traveler information, and performance reporting
-
Linking road user charging to air quality
  • Targeting high-impact pollution sources through strategic pricing
  • Incentivizing cleaner fleets and alternative travel modes
  • Measuring air quality improvements attributable to RUC programs
-
Lunch and Networking Break
-
Tolling Back Office Modernization: Lowering Cost-to-Collect While Improving Service
  • Cloud migration and modularity: what strong architectures look like in 2026 procurements
  • Performance management: KPIs for accuracy, timeliness, disputes, refunds, and customer response
  • Contracting lessons: avoiding lock-in while still holding suppliers accountable
-
Enforcement That Works: Plate Integrity, Evasion Controls, and Fair Penalties
  • Designing enforcement for legitimacy: proportionality, appeals, and transparency
  • Tech that matters: LPR/ANPR performance, data quality, and cross-agency coordination
  • Revenue protection without reputational damage: practical controls and communications
-
Cybersecurity and Resilience for Tolling and Pricing Systems
  • Threat landscape: where tolling and pricing systems are most exposed
  • “Procurable” security: contractual requirements, monitoring, and incident response readiness
  • Continuity planning: keeping revenue and customer trust intact during disruption
-
Panel Discussion: Procurement and Delivery — What Buyers and Suppliers Get Wrong (and How to Fix It)
  • Writing RFPs that deliver outcomes: performance specs, interoperability, and audit clauses
  • Implementation risk: migration, cutover, testing, and governance that prevents surprises
  • Commercial alignment: structuring contracts so both sides win (and users don’t lose)
-
Afternoon networking break

-
Technology Reality Check: GNSS, Telematics, and Smartphone Approaches — What’s Ready to Scale
  • Accuracy, fraud resistance, and audit: what agencies should demand
  • Customer adoption: enrollment friction, incentives, and support models
  • Choosing architecture by use case: EV RUC, multi-state freight, and metro pricing
-
Case Study: EV RUC Goes Live — What Implementation Teaches That Pilots Don’t
  • Operational lessons from live EV RUC deployment (billing, customer questions, exceptions)
  • Designing the transition path: from optional to mandatory, and from EVs to broader fleets
  • What to measure publicly to build trust and momentum
-
Closing Keynote: A Roadmap to National Scale — What Must Be True by 2030
  • The minimum conditions: interoperability, enforceability, legitimacy, and privacy by design
  • Sequencing: what to do first, what to avoid, and how to keep programs politically durable
  • A 12–18 month action plan for agencies, operators, and suppliers
-
Chair's Closing Remarks
-
Registration and welcome refreshments
-
Chair's opening remarks
-
Designing the Revenue Story: What Road Pricing Funds, How It’s Accounted For, and Why It Matters
  • Why “what it funds” determines acceptance: credibility, transparency, and outcomes
  • Governance models: ring-fencing, oversight, and reporting users can understand
  • Avoiding mistrust: common communications pitfalls and how to preempt them
-
Case Study: Regional Governance — Getting Cities, States, MPOs, and Operators to Move Together
  • Decision rights: who sets prices, exemptions, boundaries, and performance targets
  • How to align incentives across agencies without paralysis
  • A practical template for multi-party governance and accountability
-
Urban and regional pricing in North America
  • Integration with clean air zones, congestion pricing, and public transit goals
  • Measurable outcomes: congestion reduction, safety, emissions, and health benefits
  • Customer experience: onboarding, exemptions, and appeals processes
-
Morning networking break
-
Panel Discussion: Interoperability, Standards, and the Next-Gen Customer Account
  • The market direction: one account across tolling, pricing, and mobility payments
  • Standards and governance: what should be harmonized and who should own it
  • Implementation reality: integration, clearing, and customer protection
-
Customer Account and Customer Service Engineering: Enrollment, Communications, and Dispute Reduction
  • The levers that reduce contact center load: clarity, proactive communications, and self-service
  • Designing policies for fewer disputes: exemptions, notifications, and error correction
  • Measuring what matters: NPS, dispute rates, time-to-resolution, and refunds
-
Project Update: Nationwide Interoperability — Progress, Pain Points, and Priorities
  • Where interoperability is improving and where it is still fragile
  • What member agencies need from tech providers in 2026–2027
  • The next steps: capabilities, governance, and delivery milestones
-
Lunch and afternoon networking break
-
AI and Analytics for Pricing and Operations: From Hype to Measurable Outcomes
  • Using analytics to improve reliability and incident response, not just dashboards
  • Predictive operations: what can realistically be automated today
  • Guardrails: explainability, bias, audit, and public confidence
-
Toll Evasion, Fraud, and Compliance: The Modern Toolbox
  • Detecting patterns: evasion typologies and data signals agencies can act on
  • Balancing enforcement with equity: fair processes that still deter noncompliance
  • Cross-jurisdiction collaboration: what data-sharing agreements should enable
-
Implementation Deep Dive: Migration, Cutover, and “Day 1” Readiness
  • Testing regimes that prevent reputational damage
  • Cutover planning: parallel running, exceptions, and what to do when it goes wrong
  • Governance on launch: incident management, communications, and performance reporting
-
Afternoon networking break
-
Case Study: All-Electronic Tolling Conversions — What the Last 90 Days Before Go-Live Really Look Like
  • Migration and cutover sequencing: parallel run, exception handling, and rollback planning
  • Customer transition: communications, payment migration, and dispute prevention
  • Measuring success: cost-to-collect, leakage reduction, and service KPIs in the first 30 days
-
Project Update: Managed Lanes + Tolling Operations in 2026 — Reliability, Enforcement, and Real-Time Performance
  • Operational KPIs that matter: throughput, speed reliability, and incident recovery
  • Enforcement in practice: occupancy compliance, plate quality, and roadside performance
  • Integrating ITS: traveler information, predictive operations, and corridor management
-
Closing Keynote: The 2026–2028 Deal Pipeline — Where the Market Is Actually Heading
  • The most bankable deployment pathways: managed lanes, metro pricing, and RUC evolution
  • Procurement trends: modular stacks, outcome-based contracting, and security requirements
  • What suppliers must prove to win: reliability, auditability, interoperability, and service KPIs
-
Chair’s closing remarks