Charging, Tolling & RUC

The focus of the IBTTA’s Annual Technology Summit is changing. The tolling organisation’s Bill Cramer explains why this is good news for ITS professionals looking to embrace new technologies For a decade or more, the technology summits hosted by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) have helped drive the tolling industry’s embrace of the systems, services and breakthrough concepts that are building a 21st century transportation sector. Now, the summit itself is adjusting its

The UK government is investing more than £6 million in the deployment of chargepoints to support ultra-low emission taxis across the country. The money will be used to install nearly 300 rapid points and 46 fast ones in 17 local authorities, including Greater Manchester, Brighton & Hove and Leicester. Rapid chargepoints are typically able to charge an EV to 80% in 30 minutes depending on the model’s battery capacity while fast charging is expected to deliver more than 60 miles of range in 10-30 minu

New York’s governor has suggested that unless some form of dynamic pricing is imposed on motorists in the city, there will be a 30% hike in public transit fares and tolls. Democrat Andrew Cuomo said the stiff Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) price rise would hit those using subways, buses, tunnels and bridges, Associated Press (AP) reports. He is calling for tolls which charge motorists entering the most congested areas of Manhattan – south of 60th Street – which he believes could raise $1

“America will never have the infrastructure system it needs and deserves if we don’t do a better job of incorporating technology,” said leading Republican Sam Graves. He leads the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the US House of Representatives and made the comments this week at a hearing entitled ‘The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Investing in Our Nation’s Infrastructure Cannot Wait’. Ranking member Graves said: “Compared to other countries, our infrastructure is falling behind, and in so

Road congestion and lack of infrastructure funding are among the main issues facing the transportation industry, according to the new president of the IBTTA. Chris Tomlinson, who is also interim executive director of the newly created Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority, suggested an absence of technological standards, particularly in the US, is also a potential problem. But along with “continued increases in congestion in our urban areas”, he points to opportunities. “We can see a convergence of t

Tolling specialist Q-Free has withdrawn from a tender process for an electronic road pricing (ERP) system in Jakarta, Indonesia, due to uncertainty on the tender timeline and outcome. This withdrawal decision is also based on uncertainty regarding project structure and financing and expected project profitability. The company says it intends to increase recurring revenues and reduce its reliance on single large projects, and will be more selective when it comes to which contracts it pursues. The

Kapsch TrafficCom Australia is to deliver a tolling roadside system for two projects in Melbourne and Sydney for a combined value of AUD$30 million (£17m). In Melbourne, Kapsch’s tolling technology will be utilised in the West Gate Tunnel Project, an initiative which seeks to establish a second river crossing in the city and remove thousands of trucks from residential streets. Part of an agreement between two contractors: CPB Contractors John Holland Joint Venture (CPBJH JV), the full scope of the contr

Feig Electronic has deployed more than 600 radio frequency identification (RFID) readers in India to allow drivers to pay for tolls without stopping at toll booths. The delivery is part of the National Highway Authority in India’s (NHAI) Fastag programme, an open road tolling method that relies on open ISO standard RFID technology. In a statement, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways says Fastag enabled vehicles can pass through dedicated lanes without stopping at toll plazas on national highways.

In the birthplace of Mozart, Colin Sowman found that delegates at the IBTTA’s inaugural World Tolling Summit were playing a variety of interesting tunes The first World Tolling Summit took place in Salzburg, Austria this autumn. Created and organised by the International Bridge Tolling and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), the event was supported by its European counterpart Asecap and hosted by Austria’s tolling authority, Asfinag. The transfer of views, experience and practice both ways across the Atl

The Driven consortium, led by software provider Oxbotica, hopes to trial a fleet of autonomous vehicles (AV) in London before Christmas following successful ongoing tests in Oxford. The vehicles will map streets in the London Borough of Hounslow as part of the consortium’s plans to run a fully autonomous fleet between both cities in 2019. Oxbotica has equipped the vehicles with its autonomous software, radar, lidar sensors and onboard computers and cameras. The fleet will gather data on the contents of