Charging, Tolling & RUC

Since it launched on 30 November last year, Dart Charge has already helped to speed up journeys by removing the need to stop at a barrier to pay the Dartford Crossing charge. To get the most benefit from the changes, the UK Highways Agency has developed a new way of identifying and managing over-height vehicles and dangerous loads before they enter the tunnel, a job that until now was carried out at the payment barriers. All major tunnels have rules about what substances can be taken through them an

Executive director and CEO of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), Patrick D. Jones, has made a statement on the State of the Union Address, saying: “In his State of the Union Address tonight, President Obama said that Republicans and Democrats must work together to make critical repairs and improvements to our long-neglected transportation infrastructure. As the economy starts back on the right track, Congress can rescue this vital part of our economic engine from further d

Göteborg, Sweden, city officials are looking at alternative ways to improve air quality in the city after a proposed congestion charge was rejected by citizens in a referendum last September. A study commissioned by the City Executive Office has been examining the impact of a number of different initiatives, including more accessible, free or reduced-price public transport, and speed restrictions. “There is no other single measure that has the same effect on the environment and congestion that the cha

A Miami transportation executive, Javier Rodriguez, executive director of the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX), has been named 2015 president of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association’s (IBTTA). As a transportation leader, Rodriguez is poised to lead IBTTA during this challenging time. Under Rodriguez's leadership, MDX converted its expressways to an all-electronic system. Before joining MDX in 2007, Rodriguez spent 16 years with the Florida Department of Transportation, including

Thomas Falck, who has been acting as Q-Free’s CEO on a contract basis since January 2014, has been appointed CEO from 1 January 2015. Falck says he has had a hectic first year at Q-Free, and is positive about taking on the role permanently.

American Traffic Solutions (ATS) Fleet Services has added the state of Georgia to its PlatePass centralised ele3ctronic toll payment nationwide coverage. PlatePass is an electronic toll payment and management solution that that enables fleets to take advantage of high-speed, cashless toll lanes with or without an in-vehicle transponder, saving them save time and money. Fleet customers enrolled in the program have saved up to 50 per cent on their toll management costs. “We are excited to now include Ge

Austrian motorway operator Asfinag is to launch an invitation to tender at the beginning of 2015 for operation of the country’s toll system from 2019. Contracts with Austrian supplier of road tolling systems Kapsch TrafficCom and Raiffeisen Informatik's (R-IT), the IT department of Austrian bank Raiffeisen International (RBI), will expire at the end of 2018. The truck toll was introduced in Austria in 2004 and since then has run smoothly using microwave-based system for toll collection. Asfinag's managi

Colin Sowman reports from a two-day meeting where industry leaders, academics and political advisers presented their thoughts on the future of mobility. Most governments do not dare to introduce tolling systems… they are too frightened.” So said Georg Kapsch in his capacity of chief operating officer of Kapsch TrafficCom, during a forward-looking press event at the company’s headquarters in Vienna.

Satellite-based tolling opens up new options for authorities and can be integrated with DSRC systems as David Crawford discovers. As the proud custodian of the European Union (EU)’s longest road network covered by a single (truck) charging scheme – and the only one to include all major roads - Slovakia has become the continent’s poster-nation for the virtues of GNSS/CN (Global Navigation Satellite System/Cellular Network)-based tolling. It is also proved to be a very fast implementer. Speaking at the 2014 I

Managed lanes have something of a patchy track record and can pose authorities problems as well as solutions. Many authorities in the US and beyond have converted, or are converting, parts of the highway network into ‘Managed Lanes’ and charging motorists a fee to avoid the delays on the adjoining free use lanes. Some authorities have converted underused High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes into priced-managed high occupancy/toll lanes (HOT lanes) whereby the price charged can vary depending on a number of fa