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

  • French toll tag order for Q-Free
    June 21, 2013
    Vinci Autoroutes in France, the largest toll operator in Europe, has chosen Q-Free’s OBU 610 universal toll tag in an order valued at US$5.5 million. With more than four thousand kilometres under their concession Vinci Autoroutes controls around half of France’s national network. The OBU 610 is Q-Free’s fourth generation transponder, small yet powerful enough to support all 5.8 GHz CEN DSRC protocols.
  • Texas goes public on habitual toll violators
    March 24, 2015
    Andrew Bardin Williams considers the effect of the ‘Name and Shame’ strategy adopted in Texas to encourage serial toll violators to pay up. It’s a tough time to be a scofflaw in the Lone Star State. Habitual toll violators - some with tens of thousands of unpaid tolls and fees - are being publically shamed into squaring their accounts with US toll agencies. In November 2013 the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) starting publishing a list of the state’s most egregious toll violators on its website.
  • Turas to manage free-flow transactions in Dublin
    April 26, 2019
    Turas, a joint venture comprising Vinci Highways and business process management provider Abtran, is to manage free-flow transactions services in Dublin, Ireland. The 11-year contract, valued at £321 million, is for the Irish capital’s ring road (M50 motorway) as part of an agreement with state agency Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). Vinci, a subsidiary of Vinci Concessions, and Abtran will combine resources to deliver a service which covers the technology, systems and operations to support free-fl
  • Tattile targets multi-lane free-flow tolling with Smart+
    August 25, 2023
    Camera has 'unparalleled levels of performance and accuracy', manufacturer says