Charging, Tolling & RUC

In autumn 2017, the state of Washington in the US is to begin a pilot road user charging (RUC) program, involving 2,000 volunteers across the state. During the pilot period, the state will track their mileage in several different ways including odometer readings and a smart phone app. Another option will be charging drivers a flat fee. Drivers will report on the positive and negative impacts of the road usage fee. US company D'Artagnan Consulting prepared the detailed state-wide RUC demonstration impleme

IBTTA’s Patrick Jones contemplates the need for, sources of and constraints on transportation innovation. For years now, visionary thinkers and doers in the highway transportation community have been laser-focused on the role of innovation in addressing the most pressing mobility challenges.

Q-Free has received an order valued at US$3.4 million (29 million NOK) to supply its OBU615 on-board tag unit to French highway company Vinci Autoroute, to be delivered during 2017. The OBU615 supports all current and future 5.8GHz CEN DSRC protocols. Typical applications include electronic toll collection (ETC) and congestion charging, automatic vehicle identification (AVI), electronic registration identification (ERI), access control and parking.

FIA Region 1 has responded to the news that German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt and European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc have reached a deal for a non-discriminatory roll out of a controversial road toll scheme in Germany. Although final details of the deal have yet to be released, FIA Region I cautiously welcomes the deal if it means the replacement of some existing road taxes. The German Minister has committed to earmark revenue from the new road taxation scheme to be re-invested into the

The outlook for the US toll road industry remains positive, reflecting the expectation of continued strong traffic and revenue growth in the next 12 to 18 months, according to Moody’s Investors Service in its yearly outlook, Tolls Roads – US: 2017 Outlook – Strong Traffic and Revenue Growth Support Positive Outlook. Moody’s estimates that median traffic growth among 48 rated toll roads will range from three per cent to four per cent in the remainder of 2016 and into 2017, and that median toll revenue wil

The European Union has finally agreed to Germany’s plan to introduce road tolls, says EurActiv, despite originally saying that the proposals were discriminatory to foreign drivers and would break EU law. Germany will now change its road toll law so that it does not discriminate against drivers registered in other EU countries, German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said. However, the plan has met with opposition from Germany’s neighbours in the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Denmark. Aust

Austria’s highway and expressway operator ASFINAG (Autobahnen-und-Schnellstrassen-Finanzierungs-Aktiengesellschaft) has awarded Kapsch TrafficCom the contract to implement and operate the GO Maut 2.0 Mauttechnik toll collection system (national toll collection system for vehicles over 3.5 metric tons). The contract comprises modernising roadside infrastructure at around 500 locations and upgrading the control centre up to the latest technological standards. Instead of two gantries, future roadside tol

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has explored a number of ways to find sustainable road funding. It is facing a nearly US$1 billion annual funding gap over the next 25 years and is looking to explore transportation funding alternatives as the fuel tax continues to become less reliable over time, due decreased purchasing power and more fuel efficient and electric vehicles. This pilot is the first step in an extensive process of evaluating the concept alongside other funding alternatives. I

International technology company Thales has entered into exclusive negotiations with French private equity firm Latour Capital with a view to divesting its ticketing and revenue collection, road tolling and car park management systems business, in line with the company’s strategy of business portfolio optimisation. With close to 850 employees mainly based in France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Italy, Mexico, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand and Egypt, this business generated sales of US$165 million (€155 mil

Tolling as a Service (TAAS) VeriToll has launched CrowdToll, a crowdsourced image review technology that aims to cut image review costs by more than half while achieving higher levels of accuracy and a quicker turnaround. VeriToll is currently in the middle of its second pilot program with two more in the pipeline in order to fully validate its technology prior to an initial industry offering. Leveraging the sharing economy as Uber, AirBNB and Etsy do, CrowdToll's crowdsourced reviewer pool exists 24/