Charging, Tolling & RUC

Indian transportation officials will meet this month (October) to discuss implementing a ‘One Nation One Tag’ policy to replace multiple smart tags being used on toll roads. The Times of India says the Fastag RFID-based smart tag is being used to pay tolls on the national highway network – but that commercial vehicles must have a separate tag to enter Delhi. An unnamed official is quoted as saying: "Why should people be made to buy multiple smart tags to pay toll on different roads? There have been comp

IBTTA CEO Pat Jones has invoked the example of climate change protestor Greta Thunberg to insist that the tolling industry can help tackle global environmental concerns. Speaking at the IBTTA’s annual meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Jones said that members have the power to help arrest what the United Nations calls a “worsening climate crisis”. The event in Canada saw IBTTA members talking about decarbonising transport, the importance of eco-routes and sustainable mobility as ways of ensuring they re

San Miguel Corporation is seeking a high-level solution to congestion in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The company - whose flagship product is the San Miguel beer – is proposing an elevated toll road on top of the EDSA (Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) highway, stretching from Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City to either Samson Road or Balintawak in Quezon City. A report by ABS-CBN News says the toll road would have five lanes northbound and southbound and may also include dedicated lanes for a bus rapid tr

From Los Angeles to New Delhi, cities may have to expand their current charging infrastructure for electric vehicles by 500% in the next few years. Arup’s Dominic Taylor asks how cities, infrastructure owners and transport authorities can make joined-up decisions ive years from now, low emission vehicles – predominantly electric vehicles (EVs) - will be transforming the streets of our cities – as long as these vehicles have somewhere to charge. Drivers of EVs without driveways, and unable to charge at hom

From DSRC and RFID to GNSS or smartphones – which technology is ‘best’ for tolls, charging and pricing schemes? In the first of two articles, Josef Czako examines the options

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) intends to replace cash lanes with the electronic FasTrak tolling system at seven bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area. A report by Fox 2 KTVU says the MTC is hoping the $4 million upgrade will speed up traffic flow and save money on operations on the following bridges: Carquinez, Antioch, Benicia, Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay, San Mateo and Dumbarton. For drivers without a FasTrak system, cameras will capture the number plates of their v

Q-Free is to deploy its Intrada Synergy Server (ISS) in an IBM contract to upgrade the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDoT) toll road back office. Q-Free says the vehicle identification and automatic number plate recognition system will reduce TxDoT’s number plate image processing costs by processing daily video transactions. ISS is a component of IBM’s integrated solution that can process millions of number plate images from the tolling system video cameras, the company adds. TxDoT is respons

US-based Verra Mobility has partnered with motorway operator APRR to provide toll management services in France. David Roberts, CEO of Verra, says: "Initially, we will be focusing on providing toll services to our rental car company partners throughout France.” The partnership will allow Verra to expand to other countries to make travel in Europe more connected, Roberts adds. Vera intends to develop products for fleets that allow drivers to use electronic toll lanes without having to slow down or stop

Flowbird has deployed touchscreen terminals at three park and ride sites in the UK city of Durham, allowing users to pay for multiple tickets in a single transaction. The company says its Cale Web Terminal Touch product, installed by scheme operator NSL, is reducing queues at Belmont, Howlands Farm and Sniperley sites. The terminals, installed by scheme operator NSL, allow users to pay via coin, credit/debit card as well as Apple Pay and the Android equivalent. The system’s back office allows users to in