Charging, Tolling & RUC

Australian tolling industry debates tag replacement

June 11, 2014

Australia’s 2014 National Electronic Tolling Conference (NeTC) inspired lively debate among the 130 delegates about tackling the need to replace seven-plus million tolling tags that are reaching the end of their life. In his opening address, Australian Toll Road Users’ Group Chair Rex Wright said the industry was potentially facing a US$94 million bill over the next five years to replace old tags. As Australian tolling authorities operate a harmonious national tag system, all toll operators are committed

South African agencies in dispute over road tolls

June 10, 2014

The city of Cape Town and South Africa’s roads agency Sanral are again in dispute over the proposed US$936 million N1 and N2 tolling project, with the city saying Sanral is attempting to keep the public in the dark about the costs of tolling. The Western Cape High Court last year put a temporary stop to the project until the finalisation of the city’s review application in which it is asking the court to set aside the decision to declare the N1 and N2 toll roads. Sanral initially withheld what it cons

Developer selected for Dallas Airport freeway project

June 2, 2014

Traffic relief is on the way for North Texas motorists who rely on SH 183, the airport freeway in Dallas and Tarrant counties. The Texas Transportation Commission has awarded a contract to Southgate Mobility Partners to develop much-needed improvements on up to 28 miles of roadway. Listed in the Texas Department of Transportation's 100 Most Congested Roadways, segments of SH 183 are used by nearly 170,000 vehicles daily.

Epitex and Marubeni target LED development for ITS sector

May 30, 2014

Japanese visible and infrared LED producer Epitex is focusing its research and development efforts on the ITS sector which it serves globally through its partnership with Marubeni. Through the development of custom solutions in wavelengths between 360nm and 1650nm, Epitex’s LEDs can be integrated into specific applications in the ITS, security, medical, biometrics and military sectors.

Making the case for interstate tolling

May 30, 2014

A provision in the Grow America Act, introduced to Congress last month by Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, proposes lifting a decades-old ban on tolling existing interstate general purpose lanes. According Daniel Papiernik, HNTB Corporation's mid-Atlantic toll services leader, writing in Roll Call, recent opposition to the proposal is short-sighted. He claims that relying on revenues derived from the gas tax is simply an unsustainable way of funding the nation’s aging roads, bridges and tunnels

US eyes European model for Illinois toll road upgrade

May 30, 2014

David Crawford welcomes the adoption of European-style ITS technology by the US. The Jane Addams Memorial Tollway in Illinois, US is well on the way towards becoming a ‘smart traffic corridor’, taking full advantage of active traffic management (ATM or ‘managed lanes’) technology that originated in Europe. It is one of the first American toll roads to do so; preliminary work began in 2014 and will continue through to 2016. Jane Addams is one of four toll roads operated by the publicly-owned Illinois State T

Xerox automates HOV/HOT enforcement

May 27, 2014

Counting the number of people in a vehicle has always been a manual task, but now Xerox has developed a real-time system to automate the process. Xerox has introduced an automated system that determines the number of passengers in a vehicle, enabling authorities to detect non-qualifying drivers using the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) and High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. Traditionally HOV/HOT enforcement has entailed local police visually confirming each vehicle has the required number of occupants and chasin

Strategic organisational changes at Q-Free

May 22, 2014

Q-Free has carried out a revision of the company strategy and will make organisational changes in order to strengthen its market position. CEO Thomas Falck, who was appointed CEO on 6 January 2014, on an initial six-month contract, will remain at the helm through 2014 in order to oversee a successful implementation of the changes. Going forward, Q-Free will operate three business areas: road user charging (RUC); advanced transportation management systems (ATMS); and the new business area managed services

Atkins appoints national toll-related business practice director

May 20, 2014

Atkins has promoted Francis ‘Fran’ O’Connor to national director of highway tolling programs, a role previously held by Jorge Figueredo who will now oversee business development and sales for Atkins’ DOT (Department of Transportation) business unit. O’Connor worked for Atkins since 2011, most recently serving as a principal project manager for Atkins’ toll-related practice. Before joining Atkins, he served as operations vice president for Electronic Transaction Consultants Corporation of Richardson, Tex

Electronic toll collection system market projected to grow $9.5 billion by 2020

May 19, 2014

According to a new market research report by MarketsandMarkets, Electronic Toll Collection System Market by Products, Technology Applications and Geography - Analysis & Forecast 2013-2020, the market for electronic toll collection (ETC) is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1 per cent from 2013 to 2020, and reach US$9.5 billion in 2020. The overall global electronic toll collection system market is segmented into four major areas: products, technologies, applications and geography. All the major segments a