Charging, Tolling & RUC

Drivers in Massachusetts may no longer need to worry about having cash on hand as they hit toll roads. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is planning to replace every tollbooth in the state with electronic tolling systems that read E-ZPass transponders in cars and send monthly bills to drivers who use toll roads without passes. “We’re trying to look at doing things faster, more efficiently and provide more information to the public,” said MassDOT Highway Administrator Frank DePaola.

GeoToll, a new product that promises to turn the newest generation 4G mobile phones into a multi-protocol toll transponder is about to be launched in the US. OmniAir founder and president Tim McGuckin is leaving the interoperability standards cooperative to run GeoToll as its first chief executive officer. The device will be multi-protocol, so it will be usable on any toll system in North America, to the extent they can handle patent issues with licensing or open standards. GeoToll hopes to trial the devic

Indian technology company Rajdeep has received an order from Oriental Structural Engineers to install an infrared vehicle classification system for a National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase V road upgrading project in Etawah Chakeri, Uttar Pradesh. The order involves two toll plazas with a total of twenty-six lanes. The new system will replace the existing treadle based classification system. All toll lanes will have weigh in motion (WIM) as well as a mix of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) lane

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) has exercised its contract option to convert its traditional manual toll lanes at the Interstate 93 Hooksett Toll Plaza into an Open Road Tolling (ORT) system using Schneider Electric’s SmartMobility Tolling Solution. Schneider Electric will install tolling technologies into the existing road infrastructure in order to convert the centre portion of the toll plaza from conventional toll lanes to ORT. Toll tag readers for E-ZPass will be integrated with o

After two years of planning, all-electronic tolling will begin on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge on 27 March. In 2011, when the bridge district was facing a five-year shortfall of US$89 million, the Highway and Transportation District approved a plan to pursue all-electronic tolling as a cost-saving measure. The district will trim its expenses by US$16 million over the next decade as a result of the new system. According to bridge district spokeswoman Mary Currie, the bridge will be the first in Califo

Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is committed to implementing all-electronic tolling (AET) by the middle of 2016; the Tobin Bridge will be converted first as a demonstration to familiarise the public, according to Frank DePaola, the state's highway administrator. The state is going all-electronic because with modern technology it's the most cost-effective way to collect tolls, and because it reduces delays to motorists and improves safety at toll points, he said. MassDOT has estimated it

Schneider Electric is to implement what is said to be one of Brazil’s first three Multi-Lane Free-Flow (MLFF) systems for highway concession company Renovias, enabling the concessionaire to carry out electronic toll collection without the need for toll collectors or requiring vehicles to stop. Schneider says this will improve drivers’ experience when travelling through the toll stations, while being able to travel at a constant speed will reduce waiting times, traffic jams and emissions. The project inclu

Norwegian toll technology provider Q-Free has secured two new contracts worth a combined US$7.5m to supply toll tags to toll concessionaires in Chile and Brazil.Vespucio Norte Express in Chile has placed a US$3.4m order for the firm’s OBU610 toll tags, with delivery to start this May. Q-Free is also to supply tags to the value of US$4.1m to Centro Gestao Meios de Pagto (CGMP) in Brazil. One of the first urban concessionaires in Santiago, Vespucio Norte Express is one of the most modern road connections worl

Two new managed toll lanes being built on nine miles of the César Chávez Border Highway Loop 375 in El Paso, Texas are expected to increase capacity and reduce traffic congestion in the area thanks to a managed lane free flow tolling system to be supplied by Schneider Electric. The company has been selected by the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority (CRRMA) to provide tolling system integration and maintenance services on the two new managed lanes. In order to operate and support the additional toll la

Promoting open market conditions for ITS deployment remains a major part of Mexico’s recent infrastructure modernization program. Travis P Dunn, partner at D’Artagnan Consulting, looks at the progress so far. In the past six years, Mexico has embarked on an ambitious infrastructure modernization program, calling for the construction and improvement of more than 19,000km of road infrastructure and the deployment of advanced technologies that improve safety, efficiency, and convenience for road users. One of