Charging, Tolling & RUC

A new group called Fix 66 has been formed to advocate for a managed lanes and bus rapid transit system in the I-66 corridor, outside of the Capital Beltway, by maximising private sector investment and minimising potential impacts to its communities, businesses and commuters during construction. Anthony Bedell, a lifelong Fairfax County resident, local political leader and former official of the US Department of Labour and US Small Business Administration, says he is starting the Fix 66 group to give a vo

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has announced the winners of the 2015 Toll Excellence Award competition that recognises excellence, innovation and achievement in the tolling industry. “This year’s submissions were particularly innovative,” said Patrick D. Jones, executive director and CEO of IBTTA. “There were many great examples of projects highlighting new ideas and emerging practices throughout the international tolling industry. A new category, Private Sector Innova

TransCore has unveiled new technology that will provide motorists with access to any toll road throughout the US, eliminating the need for a toll tag on the windshield. TransCore’s Universal Toll Module (UTM) multi-protocol toll tag is designed to be integrated into the vehicle manufacturing process rather than an after-market application. Because the UTM functions on all US toll roads, motorists will no longer need to cover their windshields with various types of toll tags for different regions of t

Tollaust, a subsidiary of toll road operator Transurban Group, has awarded Egis the contract for the management of incident response services of the Lane Cove Tunnel and the M2 motorway in Sydney, Australia. The contract commences at the beginning of October 2015 and will run for three years. The 21 kilometre M2 motorway and the 3.6 kilometre twin tunnel Lane Cove Tunnel are two urban motorways linking the M1 motorway and the fast-growing north-west suburbs of Sydney. Traffic on these two motorway se

ANI, Colombia’s national infrastructure agency, has awarded the SAC 4G consortium a US$898 million contract to design, build, finance and operate the 176 km Autopista al Mar 1 motorway over 25 years. The consortium comprises Austrian construction group Strabag, Spain’s Sacyr and Concay of Colombia. The project, in the Department of Antioquia in north-western Colombia and will link Medellín, the capital of Antioquia, with the cities of San Jerónimo and Santa Fe de Antioquia before continuing to Bolombo

The first US pay-per-mile road charging program went into operation in Oregon last week. OReGO is currently limited to 5,000 vehicles statewide; participants will pay 1.5 cents per mile while driving in Oregon and receive a credit on their bill for state gas tax paid at the pump. ODOT is asking participants for feedback and suggestions for improving OReGO along the way. "The doors are now open for Oregonians to enrol their vehicles and test-drive OReGO statewide," said Vicki Berger, chair of Oregon's

A new report issued by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) in advance of the busy Fourth of July holiday travel season indicates that as Americans take to the roads this summer they will more often choose toll roads to get them to their destinations than in years past. The report, 2015 Report on Tolling in the US, reveals that the number of trips drivers have taken on tolls roads has increased 14 per cent over the last four years, rising from 5 billion trips in 2011 to 5.7 b

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has applauded the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee’s introduction of its surface transportation reauthorisation legislation titled the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy (DRIVE) Act. It has joined twelve other organisations, including the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, American Road & Transportation Builders Association, ITS America and the US Tolling Coalitio

The European Union has launched an infringement procedure on Germany’s introduction of a law introducing a road charging scheme for cars. At the same time, it passed a law ensuring that vehicles registered in Germany benefit from a deduction of the road charge from the annual vehicle tax bill. This will lead to a de facto exemption from the charge for cars registered in Germany. Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said: "A toll system can only be compliant with European law if it respects the fundame

Ptolemus Consulting Group has released the 2015 edition of its electronic toll collection (ETC) Global Study 2015, which indicates that the average penetration of electronic tolling by revenue in Europe is set to increase from 71 per cent in 2015 to 86 per cent in 2025. The growth is lead by the increase use of road user charging schemes dedicated to trucks following the first steps made by Germany.