407 ETR announced today that it has appointed Denise Peltier to serve as the company’s customer service Ombudsman.

“Customer service is a top priority at 407 ETR,” said Antonio de Santiago, President and Chief Executive Officer of 407 ETR. “We have made significant steps to improve customer service in recent years and an Ombudsman can help to identify even more ways to serve our customers better.”

407 ETR already has a dispute resolution process for the licence plate denial process and other customer service matters. However, customers who feel that their issue has not been resolved through these channels can now have their issue reviewed by the Ombudsman.

“407 ETR wants to ensure customers are treated fairly and reasonably,” Peltier said. “I look forward to working with customers and 407 ETR staff to address concerns quickly in an unbiased and impartial manner.”

Peltier has over 15 years of experience in customer service and advocating for both personal and business customers within the telecommunications and transportation industries.

Since 2002, 407 ETR has initiated a number of improvements to customer service, including:

• Maintaining an average wait time of less than 20 seconds for over 36 consecutive months;
• Offering customers a number of 24/7 self-serve options, such as checking their account balance, paying their bill or ordering a transponder;
• Reducing escalated complaints by 39 per cent in the first quarter of 2006 compared to the same period in 2004; and
• Improving the turnaround time on account changes to just a few days.

As a result of these and other improvements, calls dropped by 70 per cent in 2005 compared to 2003 and monthly customer satisfaction has averaged above 80 per cent since 2004.

The appointment of an Ombudsman was part of a March 31, 2006, agreement between 407 ETR and the Ontario Government that resolved a number of disputes between the parties.

For more details on the Ombudsman’s role, please visit www.407etr.com.

407 ETR Concession Company Limited (“407 ETR”) is the operator and manager of Highway 407, which extends 108 kilometres east-west, just north of Toronto. 407 International Inc., the sole shareholder of 407 ETR, is owned by a consortium comprised of Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, Macquarie Infrastructure Group and SNC-Lavalin.

For more information, contact:

Media:

Dale A. Albers
Manager, Public Relations
Tel: 905-264-5221