Skip to main content

Kapsch flows free in France

New toll system on A79 set to process 15,000 vehicles per day along 88km stretch
By Adam Hill December 2, 2022 Read time: 2 mins
Kapsch will provide free-flow gantries for several French highways (© Prillfoto | Dreamstime.com)

Kapsch TrafficCom has delivered a barrier-free tolling system in France.

Kapsch says drivers no longer have to slow down or stop for tolling on the new A79 motorway in the centre of the country, thanks to the multi-lane free-flow system.

The system is set to process between 10,000 to 15,000 vehicles per day along its 88km stretch.

“The A79 is the first free-flow highway in the country and thus a major step towards multi-lane free-flow implementation and migration on the French highway network,” comments Quentin Houet, area sales manager at Kapsch TrafficCom.

The company says this means not only optimised travel time and less fuel use for motorists but also fewer emissions, as congested traffic is one of the main sources of traffic-related pollution.

In September, Kapsch was awarded another contract for free-flow gantries including hardware supply and related software by French highway concessionaire SAPN.

It will be installed along 250km of the A13 and A14 highways, a heavily-frequented highway route which runs between capital city Paris and the city of Caen in Normandy, and Kapsch says it will save 30,000 tons of CO2 per year.

The gantries are able to detect, identify and classify vehicles and calculate the corresponding toll fee automatically.

“This project is a major stepping stone in the migration from traditional plaza tolling towards free flow systems for a cleaner mobility and a seamless driving experience for the people using the A13 and A14 highways,” says Houet.

The first parts of the new system are expected to become operational in the second half of 2023 to allow a free flow go-live in the course of 2024.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Intelligent parking guidance relieves congestion, reduces costs
    July 24, 2012
    O R Tambo International Airport, near the city of Johannesburg, is the largest airport in Africa. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel to/from South Africa and is one of 10 airports operated by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA). This airport places a massive demand on road infrastructure and parking facilities since a majority of travellers get to the airport by motor vehicle. The demand for parking left many people searching for a parking space for eight minutes or more
  • Developing ‘next generation’ traffic control centre technology
    July 4, 2012
    The Rijkswaterstaat and Highways Agency have joined forces to investigate what the market can do to realise an idealistic vision for traffic control centre technology. Jon Masters reports One particular seminar session of the Intertraffic show in Amsterdam in March was notably over subscribed. So heavy was the press to attend that your author, making his way over late from another appointment, could not get in and found himself craning over other heads locked outside to overhear what was being said. The
  • Russia looks to ITS to curb congestion and reduce accidents
    May 7, 2015
    Major ITS installations are planned as the Russian capital Moscow grapples with extensive traffic problems. At the end of 2014, Russia’s first complex intelligent transport system (ITS) started easing traffic problems in and around the capital Moscow, following the implementation of the plans by the federal government and the city’s authorities.
  • Mobility pricing offers new tools for managing mobility
    November 23, 2017
    Mobility pricing is the best way of sustaining and enhancing mobility, argues Moving Forward Consulting’s Josef Czako. Mobility pricing (MP) is effectively the culmination of the ‘user pays’ principle and has been referred to in many policy discussions about electronic toll collection, road user charging (RUC), and pricing. MP not only reflects the ‘use more, pay more’ nature of RUC, it also takes account of the external cost of journeys including pollution, noise, the cost of congestion and accidents.