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

  • February 1, 2012
    No in-road equipment for Queensland's free flow toll bridge
    By May this year, the new Gateway Bridge in Brisbane, which is being built alongside an existing bridge, will be open. With it will come an end-to-end free-flow tolling system. Interview with Sue Caelers, Queensland Motorway Ltd. Queensland Motorways Ltd owns and operates 61km of roadway in the area around Brisbane, Australia. This includes the Gateway Bridge and the Gateway Extension, Logan and Port of Brisbane motorways.
  • August 25, 2015
    Chile opts for Q-Free’s free flow tolling
    Q-Free is to supply its single gantry multi lane free flow tolling system to Sociedad Concesionaria Vespucio Norte Express, Chile. The order, valued at around US$4 million, is for the design and installation of the renewal of an existing electronic toll collection system in Santiago and includes an initial three-year service and maintenance period, which the customer has the option to renew for a further seven years. Delivery is due to be completed by the end of 2017. “We are pleased to receive this o
  • May 6, 2015
    Kapsch TrafficCom expands electronic toll collection in Chile
    Kapsch TrafficCom is strengthening its market in Chile, with the award of two contracts in the country through a subsidiary for the delivery of new multi-lane-free-flow gantries and on-board units. The first contract is for three new toll gantries for the urban part of the Pan-American Highway passing through Santiago de Chile, which are planned to be operational during 2015. These form part of a framework agreement with the concessionaire Autopista Central and will comprise Kapsch’s state-of-the-art sin
  • January 10, 2012
    Robust enforcement strategy needed for free flow toll roads
    Timidity has no place in effective enforcement operations on free-flow toll roads, says the NRA's Cathal Masteron. What's needed is a robust strategy which starts big and reduces in size over time, rather than starts small and gains a reputation for being easy to avoid