Skip to main content

Q-Free pioneers next-generation road user charging (RUC) for private vehicles

April 24, 2025 Read time: 2 mins

 

Since 1984, Q-Free has been a leader in tolling solutions, and now the company is driving innovation in road user charging (RUC) — a smarter, more flexible way to pay for road usage. Unlike traditional tolling, RUC calculates fees based on distance driven, with dynamic pricing for factors like rush hour congestion or urban vs rural travel. It also shifts revenue focus, covering external costs like accidents, noise, and delays rather than just infrastructure.

With declining fuel tax revenues due to electric vehicles and reduced car ownership, RUC offers a sustainable alternative. However, existing heavy-vehicle RUC solutions are too bulky, costly, and power-intensive for private cars. Q-Free is changing that with a next-generation GNSS-based tag — theTag4All, which will be launched in Seville.

Tag4All is compact, battery-powered and easy to install. It provides an unprecedented solution that removes RUC barriers with a cable-free device that takes privacy to a new level without sharing any detailed location information. Hence, it is fully compliant with GDPR regulations while offering fully-compliant DSRC technology.

RUC implementations vary by markets, with governments typically overseeing revenue collection. Q-Free’s development is backed by key stakeholders, including the Norwegian Research Council, SINTEF, and the Norwegian Public Road Administration. Following successful large-scale pilots, the company is refining the technology for broader adoption.

“With Tag4All, we’ve developed a solution that combines advanced technology with user simplicity. Our goal has been to make road user charging easy to use for private vehicles without compromising on privacy or reliability,” says Ola Martin Lykkja, RUC 2.0 Project Manager

Q-Free is inviting delegates to its stand at the ITS European Congress to learn more about RUC 2.0, Tag4All and how it’s shaping the future of road charging.

Stand: D4

Related Content

  • Further toll tag order for Q-Free
    January 17, 2013
    Norwegian toll technology provider Q-Free has received a further order from Vespucio Norte Express in Chile for its OBU610 toll tags, valued at US$3.4 million. Delivery starts in May 2013. One of the first urban concessionaires in Santiago, Vespucio Norte Express is one of the most modern road connections worldwide. In operation since January 2006, the 29 km link is one of the busiest roads in the Chilean capital. It aims to reduce travel times, increase safety levels for users, contribute to urban develo
  • New opportunities in a data-rich future
    March 19, 2014
    Jason Barnes looks at where the detection and monitoring sector is heading. In the future, there will be no such thing as an un-instrumented road. Just a short time ago, that could have been a quote from a high-level policy document but with the first arrivals of vehicles with 802.11p connectivity – the door-opener to Vehicle-to-X (V2X) applications – it’s a statement which has increasing validity. The technology which uses our roads will also provide information on road conditions but V2X isn’t the only
  • ITS World Congress first for Q-Free solution
    September 13, 2016
    Q-Free’s Universal ITS (U-ITS) Station will be help to achieve two significant firsts at the ITS World Congress Melbourne. The outdoor demonstration area will host the first Cooperative ITS (C-ITS) showcase of its type in the southern hemisphere. It will also be the first implementation anywhere in the world on live intersections of C-ITS technology and applications using open, agreed standards.
  • Road user charging made simple with e-Vignette
    October 19, 2012
    German company Ages Maut System will promote the e-Vignette as an intelligent solution for road user charging (RUC). As the company points out, the e-Vignette has the advantage of simplicity while achieving high compliance from drivers. In comparison with distance-based charging systems, a costly on-board unit is not required; also, no interaction with roadside infrastructure is necessary and data protection is achieved without technical complexity. Ages Maut says the system is ideal for countries which w