Charging, Tolling & RUC

Brazilian highway concessionaire Renovias has rolled out the first free-flow tolling system in Sao Paulo, Brazil, enabling vehicles to travel at constant speeds along the freeway and enjoy a reduction in travel times. Schneider Electric installed its SmartMobility free-flow toll system, designed to handle electronic toll collection without vehicles having to stop in order to make toll payment. The system also provides vehicle detection via its simultaneous double tag reading system and front and rear licenc

IBTTA executive director and CEO Patrick D. Jones looks at tolling’s resilience in an increasingly unpredictable and cash-strapped world. Turbulent times call for transportation agencies to move smarter. That’s why resilience and preparedness have become watchwords in every aspect of tollway operations. From having the financial resources to invest in construction, maintenance and roadway operations, to having up-to-date emergency plans and social media strategies to cope with severe weather, tolling agenci

The Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver is a prime example of how the latest ITS systems enable new infrastructures to be built and paid for while still providing additional user benefits. Vancouver has 2.2 million inhabitants and, like so many major cities, is divided into two by a river, the Frazer river. This combination makes Vancouver the second most congested city in North America and the most congested in Canada. Through the middle of the city runs the Trans-Canadian Highway 1 which crosses the Frazer Riv

Jason Barnes reports from the ASECAP Days 2013 event, which took place in Dubrovnik. ASECAP, the European tolling association held its 41st annual Study and Information Days event in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which attracted more than 200 figures from the road infrastructure sector in Europe and beyond. A series of presentations over two days brought attendees up to date with developments in a variety of policy and technology fields and discussed a number of developing and new topics, such as GNSS-based tolling a

Jack Opiola from D’Artagnan Consulting LLP explains Oregon’s latest moves which mandated a trial of mileage-based road use charging. In 1919, Oregon made the 20th century’s most significant contribution to transportation funding policy, becoming the first state in America to implement a gas tax to pay for roads. This summer Oregon’s Legislature passed, and Governor John Kitzhaber signed into law, Senate Bill 810 which requires a distance-based road usage charge for 5,000 volunteer vehicles by 1 July 2015. T

Drivers can now travel on toll roads in North Carolina and Florida using a single prepaid electronic transponder. North Carolina’s NC Quick Pass and Florida’s SunPass will function as one, providing seamless travel for motorists who pay tolls electronically. NC Quick Pass will accept all SunPass transponders on the Triangle Expressway as a form of payment, as long as the vehicle license plate is registered on the SunPass account. SunPass will also accept all types of NC Quick Pass transponders on their toll

In 1993, toll facilities in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania helped usher in regional toll interoperability in North America. Twenty years later, on 3 August, International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association’s (IBTTA), together with the rest of the tolling industry, will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG). Talking about the creation E-ZPass twenty years ago, IBTTA executive director and CEO, Patrick D Jones said: “One of the most transformative events in the his

Jason Barnes examines the trend towards single source supply of complete tolling and traffic management solutions with some senior tolling industry figures. Only a few years back, the major tolling system suppliers were aggressively positioning themselves as one-stop shops for tolling solutions and operations. No sooner has that little flurry of innovation settled than another trend has emerged – tolling companies wanting to become major ITS suppliers as well. Various tolling company seniors have in recent

The country-wide electronic toll collection (ETC) system is Belarus has begun operations, replacing the manual tolling system on 815 kilometres of the country’s road network. The US$353 million contract was awarded to Kapsch TraffiCom in 2012. The system, based on Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) technology, comprises 56 tolling and enforcement gantries and 48 customer service points, together with two modern data centres were implemented, 500,000 on board units for automatic payment and sixteen

TransCore is to convert legacy automatic vehicle identification (AVI) toll systems to SunPass interoperable and toll-by-plate all electronic toll systems on three causeways in Miami-Dade County in the US. The contract, worth around US$13 million, includes the Broad Causeway for the town of Bay Harbor Islands and the Rickenbacker and Venetian Causeways for the Miami-Dade County, all to be operable by spring 2014. For the town of Bay Harbor Islands, TransCore will convert a bi-directional cash toll plaza to