Charging, Tolling & RUC

Norwegian-headquartered tolling specialist Q-Free is to acquire 100 per cent of the shares of TCS International (TCS). Established more than ten years ago, TCS has fifteen employees, with offices in Boston, US, and a subsidiary in Toronto, Canada. The company provides advanced transportation management systems (ATMS), specialising in intelligent parking guidance and management systems. TCS offers consulting solutions and systems design for a wide range of clients including cities, transportation organisati

A number of new and highly significant open road tolling schemes have just been launched or are soon to ‘go live’. Systems of road user charging are flexing their muscles as the means to solve politically sensitive transportation problems, reports Jon Masters. Gothenburg, January 2013, will be the time and place for the launch of the next city congestion charging scheme in Europe. In a separate development, Los Angeles County’s tolled Metro ExpressLanes began operating in November 2012 – the latest in a ser

A new report from ITS America, Smart Parking and the Connected Consumer, looks at the size of the parking industry and the smart parking opportunities for facility operators and municipalities. The parking industry, defined as parking facility management, billing and collection, enforcement, and other ancillary services, is a US$24-25 billion dollar industry. The commercial parking lots and garages industry includes about 3,000 companies with combined annual revenue of more than US$8 billion. The parking cu

In August this year, Tracy Marks took over the presidency of TransCore, succeeding John Simler, who has moved on to other roles within parent company Roper Industries. A 19-year veteran of the company, Marks describes himself as having been groomed for the job. Previously responsible for TransCore’s Southern region in the US, he also took on a series of roles, including the top job at United Toll Systems, as part of moves which were carefully choreographed to prepare him for where he is now. The appointmen

Nine years after its opening, the 27-mile M6 toll motorway in the UK has had its video surveillance system upgraded in order to increase recording capacity and comply with changing data security requirements. The motorway bypasses the M6, one of the most congested pieces of road in Europe, which travels through Birmingham. Systems maintenance manager for operators Midland Expressway Limited (MEL), Paul Perry, explained why they decided to upgrade their system: “The existing Wavestore recording system has d

Opened on 17 November, the fourteen-mile corridor of new high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes in Northern Virginia from the Springfield Interchange to just north of the Dulles Toll Road on the Virginia side of the Capital Beltway provides drivers with a faster, more predictable trip on the Capital Beltway. The 495 Express Lanes project supported more than 16,000 jobs and generated nearly US$3.5 billion of economic impact state-wide. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) provider Open Roads Consulting (Open R

Ambassador Bridge, a key transit corridor linking Windsor, Ontario to Detroit and one of the most heavily travelled crossings in the US, is the first organisation in the US to install the 3M ID6204 Multiprotocol Reader, capable of reading all six tolling protocols used in North America. 3M says the ID6204 (formerly Sirit) ensures seamless interoperability regardless of tag type. Exclusive software controlled radio technology enables protocols to be turned on and off remotely with a simple command.

Q-Free is to supply the Swedish Transport Administration, Trafikverket, with further equipment for the Gothenburg congestion charging project. Q-Free says the value of the contract has now been increased by US$5.32 million for delivery of additional charging stations, related equipment and services for two years. Across the world, in Brazil, Q-Free has received a second frame agreement to supply tolling tags to Centro Gestao Meios de Pagto (CGMP), Brazil’s Centro tag distributor, valued at US$12, with a gua

Kapsch TrafficCom IVHS is to supply the Texas Department of Transportation with the company’s IDS 2.0 integrated incident detection system for the Washburn Tunnel in Houston, Texas. The non-invasive detection system will be linked to 14 fixed roadway cameras for detection of incidents in the two-way vehicular tunnel and up to six infrared intrusion detection cameras in the ventilation tunnel, enabling tunnel operators to provide cost-effective continuous 24/7 surveillance and monitoring. In South America, K

Oregon Department of Transportation has chosen the Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS) platform to enable their next generation Road Usage Charge Pilot Program (RUCPP). This key component of Oregon's Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) will be rolled out to other states in the near future. This trial is the second for IMS, with work already underway for a road charging program for a federal government in the Far East.