Skip to main content

Free-flow toll systems lower operational risks says road operator

Multi-lane free-flow toll systems lower the operational risk of highway concessions, according to toll road operator Renovias Concessionária, which implemented the first such system in Brazil. "Operational risk is lower than manned toll booths as no workers are needed," Renovias maintenance manager Michell Costa told BNamericas. The system in place on São Paulo state highway SP340 detects the electronic fee collection tags in vehicles using both 5.8GHz and 915MHz frequencies, and captures front and re
April 23, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Multi-lane free-flow toll systems lower the operational risk of highway concessions, according to toll road operator Renovias Concessionária, which implemented the first such system in Brazil.

"Operational risk is lower than manned toll booths as no workers are needed," Renovias maintenance manager Michell Costa told BNamericas.

The system in place on São Paulo state highway SP340 detects the electronic fee collection tags in vehicles using both 5.8GHz and 915MHz frequencies, and captures front and rear license plates with optical character recognition (OCR) cameras.

Renovias, which manages 346 kilometres of state roads, took the system live in 2013. It serves more than 2.25 million residents in the Campinas metropolitan region.

Costa said that toll payment evasion is the main reason why free-flow toll systems have not taken off in Brazil as much as in the Chilean capital of Santiago, where they have been in place since 2005.

The four main toll operators in Santiago – Vespucio Norte, Autopista Central, Costanera Norte and Vespucio Sur – recorded a total of US$320 million in delinquent toll payments in 2014, as drivers modify or remove license plates, or refuse to sign up for tags or purchase a daily pass.

Related Content

  • New York to pilot cordon-based congestion charging
    March 16, 2012
    From 2009, if all goes to plan, New York will run a three-year cordon-based congestion charging pilot - the first in the US. Upon accession, US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters signalled her intention to continue her predecessor Norman Mineta's initiative to specifically target road congestion. And, with initiatives such as the US Department of Transportation's (USDOT's) Urban Partnership Program actively promoting tolling as a part of a compound solution to the problem, the way was opened for the co
  • National funding cuts cause fragmentation of US ITS market
    February 1, 2012
    Paul Everett, Research Director with IMS Research, looks at how ITS deployment varies across the US and what this means in terms of market potential for systems manufacturers and suppliers At the end of 2010, the US will have a total resident population of close to 310 million, rising to an estimated 439 million by 2050.
  • Drivers urged: ‘Don’t put road workers lives at risk’
    May 23, 2018
    A road junction in Merseyside, UK, has become a hotspot for life-threatening incidents to construction workers, says Highways England. Contractors have reported 23 incidents in two months where their safety has been put at risk by drivers ignoring overnight closures. Road users have driven into roadworks for the £3m improvement project at Switch Island, where the M57, M58 and three A roads all join. One lorry driver travelled through the construction area without stopping - forcing workers to get out
  • UK Home Office type approval for Truvelo’s D-CAM
    March 21, 2014
    Truvelo UK’s D-CAM digital speed and red light enforcement camera has now gained UK Home Office Type Approval. The camera has been approved for both front and rear photography which, together with choices for the positioning of road markings for secondary speed checks, dramatically increases siting flexibility, as well for as speed on green enforcement. A patented solution which forms a part of the Home Office type approval is the ability to monitor signal phases on newer-generation LED traffic lights.