Charging, Tolling & RUC

August 15, 2017

Tolling is a ‘powerful tool to maintain and manage an infrastructure network’

Officials have recently moved to scrap tolls on several highways for the first time in 40 years, bucking a national trend toward more tolls on mostly urban roadways to shift the costs of transportation to those who use the roads, writes Associated Press. A regional authority voted this week to eliminate tolls on the Cesar Chavez Border Highway in El Paso. On the same day, Dallas city council rejected plans to build a toll road along the Trinity River. The council's action appears to be the death knell for a

August 10, 2017

Continental acquires mobility intelligence provider Quantum Inventions

Continental has announced of its acquisition of Singapore-based mobility intelligence provider Quantum Inventions. The deal will add to Continental’s growing intelligent transportation systems portfolio with Quantum’s city data including next generation navigation systems that are highly responsive to real-time information such as traffic data, road incident information and dynamic road pricing. Quantum’s solutions are based on its proprietary state-of-the-art data technology platform, which provides connec

August 9, 2017

Kapsch celebrates 125 year anniversary

Austrian company Kapsch is celebrating 125 years of technology development and expertise, from its foundation by Johann Kapsch and the end of the 19th century to today’s four main companies: Kapsch TrafficCom, Kapsch CarrierCom, Kapsch PublicTransportCom, and Kapsch BusinessCom. From its beginnings in 1892 when Kapsch produced Morse code, telegraph and telephone equipment, to radio production, television transmission in 1930, redevelopment of the telephone network into digital mobile telecommunications, and

August 8, 2017

Asecap Days delves beneath the surface of tolling

Colin Sowman picks his highlights from Asecap’s 45th annual Study and Information Days in Paris. European tolling association Asecap holds annual Study & Information Days, provides delegates with updates on the latest moves and thinking in the tolling sector and is a key meeting place for concessionaires from 22 countries. The importance of road transport to the French economy was highlighted by the country’s director general of transport infrastructures, François Poupard, in the opening session. He told th

July 31, 2017

Washington road usage charge project selects emovis

Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) has selected French toll services specialist emovis to provide services in the state road usage charge (RUC) Pilot Project. emovis will implement a cloud hosted back office and provide on-board diagnostic system unit (OBD-II) and app technology to record road users’ mileage and collect their RUC. For some users, this will involve collection of real charges in a complete end to end road charging chain. The pilot will use various technologies to record and exp

July 26, 2017

IBTTA announces 2017 International Toll Excellence Award Winners

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has announced its 2017 Toll Excellence Award Winners, recognising innovative strategies to help ease traffic flow, relieve congestion and increase safety for the global driving public. The awards are presented in seven categories and the 2017 winners are: • Indiana Toll Road Concession Company (Indiana) - Administration and Finance • State Road and Tollway Authority (Georgia) - Customer Service and Marketing Outreach • North Texas Tollway

July 26, 2017

IRD to continue WIM maintenance contract in British Columbia

Quarterhill subsidiary International Road Dynamics (IRD) has been awarded a new five-year contract valued at up to US$4 million (CA$5 million) by the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for the continuation of maintenance and services for the Weigh2GoBC Program. The contract also includes options for enhancements and upgrades and for the provision of Weigh2GoBC software, hardware and implementation services to be deployed to additional sites to expand the system network.

July 25, 2017

emovis launches automated reversible AET toll gantry

Toll operator emovis has announced the launch of ‘the first reversible all electronic tolling system’, which is in use along Puerto Rico’s PR-22 highway. The two central lanes of the 10-lane wide mono-gantry can operate in either traffic direction without any human intervention. The gantry automatically detects the traffic direction and reconfigures the AET system accordingly. The system allows road operators to add an extra traffic lane in what is virtually real time while traffic continues to flow uninter

July 24, 2017

Severn tolls will be abolished by the end of next year

Drivers will see an end to tolls on the UK’s Severn Crossings in 2018; the bridges are used by more than 25 million vehicles each year, saving significant travel time and distance for commuters and drivers using the M4 motorway.

However, the tolls on both Severn Crossings have been seen as an economic and symbolic barrier to Wales’ future prosperity.

It is estimated that this announcement would boost the economy of South Wales by around US$130 million (£100 million) a year and the average motorist could save over US$1,800 (£1,400) per year.

July 19, 2017

Kapsch to supply 6C tags for the E-470 Highway

The E-470 Public Highway Authority (E-470) in Colorado, US, has selected Kapsch TrafficCom (Kapsch) to supply 18000 ISO 6C toll tags, including both windshield and headlamp sticker tags, for use by its ExpressToll account holders. The tags will accommodate the existing all-electronic Toll (AET) collection system in place on E-470’s 47 miles of roadway, as well as all other toll facilities in the state. Approximately 2.6 million tags are expected to be delivered by 2021 under the five-year agreement. Drivers