Charging, Tolling & RUC

Confidex, Finland-based supplier of specialty RFID tags, has been awarded OCS certification for its 6C RFID windshield tag by OmniAir Certification Services (OCS), the test-affiliate of OmniAir Consortium, a technology-focused member association created to enable the deployment of interoperable advanced transportation technologies and applications. OCS certification positions Confidex as a certified, high-quality, high-volume RFID tag provider for the North American electronic toll collection market. The Co

The American parking industry is backing a government initiative to expand electric vehicle charging stations in the workplace. The International Parking Institute (IPI) has become a founding ambassador in the US DoE’s Workplace Charging Challenge, the latest element of the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge, announced by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu at the recent Washington Auto Show’s Public Policy Day. The Workplace Charging Challenge is assisting the growth of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) by urging emp

The latest research by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that red light running rates declined at Arlington, Virginia, intersections equipped with cameras. The decreases were particularly large for the most dangerous violations, those happening 1.5 seconds or longer after the light turned red. "This study provides fresh evidence that automated enforcement can get drivers to modify their behaviour," says Anne McCartt, senior vice president for research at IIHS and the study's lead au

ABI Research’s Intelligent Transportation Systems vendor Competitive Assessment analysed fifteen leading intelligent transportation systems vendors against six “innovation” and seven “implementation” criteria in addition to a market share analysis. The analysis ranks Kapsch TraffiCom first, saying it performed strongly across hardware, software, and solutions and excelling in toll collect and road use charging, traffic data, monitoring, and management, road and vehicle safety systems, and hardware. In secon

In an open letter to UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, thirty-two leading transport academics have said that in order to cut emissions and tackle congestion the government should introduce pay as you drive road charging. The academics argue that traffic will increase with further investment in the road network. They say smart demand management measures need to be accelerated, while cities are not equipped for further road traffic growth. The previous government considered pay as you go road chargin

Norwegian toll technology provider Q-Free has received a further order from Vespucio Norte Express in Chile for its OBU610 toll tags, valued at US$3.4 million. Delivery starts in May 2013. One of the first urban concessionaires in Santiago, Vespucio Norte Express is one of the most modern road connections worldwide. In operation since January 2006, the 29 km link is one of the busiest roads in the Chilean capital. It aims to reduce travel times, increase safety levels for users, contribute to urban develo

Easytrip, Ireland’s largest provider of electronic tolling payment services has launched a new Charge2Mobile toll payment service, in partnership with O2, using payments solutions provider Oxygen8’s mobile payments platform. Said to be the first of its kind, the service will provide a more convenient channel for paying tolls on Ireland’s M50 for car drivers who currently pay by cash. Available immediately to O2 customers in Ireland, Easytrip hopes to roll out its Charge2Mobile tolls offering across other n

Drivers using the Windsor-Detroit tunnel linking Canada with the US will shortly be able to pay electronically on both sides of the border. Until now, electronic payment has only been available on the US side. Tunnel president Neal Belitsky said, “It’s part of a plan to eventually phase out tunnel tokens after 2013. We’re going to be getting out of the token business. If you look throughout the US or Canada, you can count the number of transportation facilities that use tokens ... probably on one hand.” T

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has announced the launch of an aggressive 2013 public awareness campaign to highlight the benefits of tolling. “We’re launching this campaign to ensure that tolling is a key part of the discussions in Congress and elsewhere around the country on how to fund America’s transportation system,” said Patrick D Jones, IBTTA executive director and CEO. “IBTTA’s Moving America Forward public awareness campaign will make the case for the tolling indus

A common assumption, even amongst informed observers, is that there’s but a handful of urban charging schemes in operation around the world and scant prospect of that changing any time soon. Larger city-sized schemes such as Singapore, London and Stockholm come readily to mind but if we take a wider view and also consider urban access control and Low Emission Zones (LEZs) then the picture changes rather radically. There is a notable concentration of such schemes in Europe but worldwide the number is comfort