DATA: SH 45 SW toll sees 41.2% decrease in usage in April compared to March

There were 161,633 reported transactions on the SH 45 SW toll road in April, a 41.2% decline from the previous month.

The South Austin toll road—which opened in June 2019—had stabilized at between 340,000 and 360,000 transactions per month during the school year from August to February before dropping in March and April as schools closed and drivers stayed off the road during Austin and Travis County’s stay-at-home orders related to the coronavirus.

A graph of monthly transactions on the toll road can be seen here.

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority reported May 1 a total usage decline year over year of 43.18% across all five of the toll roads it operates in April. When removing SH 45 SW—which was not yet open in April 2019—from that data that drop increases to 45.08%.

In March, there was also a 9.76% decline in transactions year over year and a 20.87% decline compared to February transactions, according to Mobility Authority data. February is the most recent month without any coronavirus restrictions in place.

The year-over-year declines in March and April were the first declines reported by the Mobility Authority since July 2011.

For a comparison of transactions for the current fiscal year against fiscal year 2018-19, view the following graphic.