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

  • Kapsch outlines tolling options to combat traffic congestion
    January 11, 2017
    Michael Maitland from Kapsch TrafficCom looks at how the various forms of tolling can help authorities combat traffic congestion and air quality problems while simultaneously raising revenue.
  • More Americans relying on toll roads, says report
    July 3, 2015
    A new report issued by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) in advance of the busy Fourth of July holiday travel season indicates that as Americans take to the roads this summer they will more often choose toll roads to get them to their destinations than in years past. The report, 2015 Report on Tolling in the US, reveals that the number of trips drivers have taken on tolls roads has increased 14 per cent over the last four years, rising from 5 billion trips in 2011 to 5.7 b
  • Study finds big differences in toll collection cases
    December 16, 2013
    Examination of Norway’s tolling companies finds much to praise, and some criticisms too, as Torill Eidsheim told delegates at the ASECAP conference. The cost of collecting tolls has a substantial effect on the profitability, or otherwise, of tolling companies and is within the company’s control to a far greater degree than, for instance, traffic volumes. And while it is easy to assume that all tolling companies incur similar collection costs, that is not always the case according to Torill Eidsheim, pres
  • Vietnam launches smart highway, ETC systems
    March 26, 2015
    The Ho Chi Minh City-trung Luong highway connecting the city and the Mekong Delta province of Long An has become the first in Vietnam to be controlled by an intelligent transport system (ITS), says the Vietnam News Agency. The was implemented between April 2013 and December 2014 and was officially launched on 20 March, with a total investment of US$38.5 million, funded by preferential loans of the Republic of Korean Government and the Vietnamese Government budget. The system includes a smart control