Charging, Tolling & RUC

In light of stagnant federal funding and limited capacity for states to increase spending, toll roads will play an increasing role in addressing the funding gap for road and bridge infrastructure needs in the US, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service. Based on historical trends, Moody's projects more toll roads and increased tolling in areas with existing traffic congestion and growing economies, population and per capita income. The 2017 Infrastructure Report Card by the American Society

The European Commission is aiming to cut road transport’s CO2 emissions and is proposing to introduce toll charges based on a vehicle’s emissions, according to Reuters. The proposal, which is expected to be published at the end of May, will also include buses and coaches as well as a requirement for motorists to pay according to the distance travelled. The proposal will keep the average level of tolls collected roughly constant, meaning more polluting vehicles will pay more while cleaner ones will pay less.

Canadian patent licensing company WiLAN is to acquire intelligent transportation systems (ITS) supplier International Road Dynamics for an equity value of approximately US $47.4 million (CA$63.5 million). The acquisition is part of WiLAN’s growth strategy which will see it operate under the Quarterhill name from around the beginning of June 2017.

Land availability restrictions and tidal traffic flows have led to the implementation of a novel managed lane configuration in Texas, as Colin Sowman finds out. Dealing with traffic congestion related to the ‘tidal flows’ caused by large numbers of commuters making their way into major business hubs in the morning and returning to the suburbs in the evening, has seen the widespread use of adaptive signal timing and even reversible lanes.

Industry veteran Kary H. Witt has joined HNTB Corporation as national toll market practice leader and vice president. Witt is based in the firm’s San Francisco office and works with toll clients nationwide. Witt is well-known in the transportation industry, bringing more than 27 years of diverse experience, most recently as manager of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, where he provided both technical and executive level leadership. At HNTB, Witt helps direct growth and daily management of the tol

US GPS tracking and fleet management solutions supplier Teletrac Navman has announced a partnership with PTV Group which will see its Director workflow solution combined with PTV’s Smartour trip optimisation system to provide route planning and optimisation for fleet managers. The integration through Teletrac Navman's open API offers carriers a single interface to optimise the list of stops drivers need to complete in a given time period, taking into account vehicle dimensions, load capacity, road restri

According to a new market research report by MarketsandMarkets, the electronic toll collection market is estimated to be valued at USD 10.57 Billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 9.16% between 2017 and 2022. This is primarily due to increasing demand for effective solutions for traffic congestion and increasing allocation of funds by various governments on intelligent transportation systems. Automated vehicle identification (AVI) is used for the identification of vehicles when they move through a part

Q-Free has appointed Tor Eirik Knutsen, currently Group CFO for Norsk Mineral, as its new chief financial officer. He will join Q-Free by the beginning of October 2017. Knutsen brings with him a diverse financial background, which includes experience with M&A transactions, business development projects and cost optimisation initiatives and the company is confident he will play a key role in restoring profitable growth in Q-Free. He replaces current CFO Roar Østbø, who has decided to pursue other career o

Q-Free has appointed Fredrik Nordh, currently senior vice president, head of Nordic Collection Solutions for Tomra Systems, as senior vice president Europe, effective September 2017. Q-Free will also reorganise its regional structure from 2018; its activities in North America, Chile and Brazil will become the new America region under Morten Andersson, which the new Europe region under Nordh’s leadership will consist of all European and Nordic markets. The APMEA region will remain under the control of Pe

Bestpass customers will now have access to the Tollsmart Toll Calculator, which covers every tolled facility in the US and Canada, through a newly-announced partnership between the two companies. Bestpass, which provides single-source payment and streamlined toll management services to commercial fleets, has integrated the Tollsmart application into its customer web portal. Users will be able to estimate costs of multiple routes, including additional Bestpass volume discounts, and make strategic decision