Electronic Toll Collection (ETC)

INTRODUCTION
Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) is a technology that allows for electronic payment of tolls. Please also see Congestion Pricing for further information on ETC and Congestion Pricing.
An ETC system is able to determine if a car is registered in a toll payment program, alerts enforcers of toll payment violations, and debits the participating account. With ETC, these transactions can be performed while vehicles travel at near highway cruising speed. ETC is fast becoming a globally accepted method of toll collection, a trend greatly aided by the growth of interoperable ETC technologies.
The Rationale for Electronic Toll Collection
ETC systems are an improvement over conventional toll collection techniques. Some of the benefits for drivers include:
• fewer and shorter queues at toll plazas by increasing toll booth service rates;
• faster and more efficient service—the customer does not need to stop or have toll fees on hand;
• the ability to pay by keeping a balance on the customer’s account or charging a registered credit card;
• mailed toll statements—the customer no longer has to request a receipt.
Some of the benefits for toll operators include:
• lowered toll collection costs;
• better audit control by centralized user accounts;
• expanded capacity without being required to build more infrastructure.
For everyone, some of the benefits of ETC include:
• fuel savings;
• reduced mobile emissions by reducing or eliminating deceleration, waiting times, and acceleration;
• possible reduced drain on public monies, if the system is more self-sustaining or if the system was built/run via a public-private partnership arrangement.
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SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) is used in cordoned urban areas, over bridges, in tunnels, in High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, on toll roads, or through turnpikes. Toll charges are generally based on mileage, maintenance requirements, or congestion levels.
Until recent years most ETC systems were based on using radio devices in vehicles that would use proprietary protocols to identify a vehicle as it passed under a gantry over the roadway. More recently there has been a move to standardize ETC protocols around the Dedicated Short Range Communications protocol that has been promoted for vehicle safety by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, ERTICO and ITS Japan. (Wikipedia)
Whilst communication frequencies and standards do differ around the world there has been a trend toward vehicle infrastructure integration (VII) around the 5.9GHz frequency (802.11.x WAVE).

A toll collection system can be either open or closed (cordoned). Most current cordoned area pricing schemes use ETC. This closed system requires all entrances and exits to have either manual tollbooths or an ETC system. Nearly all manual toll systems have converted to an ETC system. For example, the cordoned toll area in Singapore, which was first implemented in 1975, has substituted its manual toll collection system with ETC points.
In an open toll system, such as a toll road, toll stations are located along the facility. Around 70% of the toll roads in the United States now use ETC.
Toll lanes for a facility with an ETC system may by operated in several ways. Lanes may accept ETC-only payment, manual-toll-only payment, or either form of payment. See our Telecommunications Diagram on ETC for more information. An ETC system typically includes four components:
1. Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI)
2. Automatic Vehicle Classification (AVC)
3. Transaction Processing
4. Violation Enforcement
Automatic vehicle identification (AVI) entails the use of electronic radio frequency tags installed in the vehicle. The tags either passively or actively communicate with roadside readers to identify vehicle ownership. Once ownership is determined, the toll cost can be deducted from the corresponding account.
Traditionally, tolls have been differentiated by vehicle class. Automatic vehicle classification (AVC) technologies installed in the roadway can determine a vehicle’s class by its physical attributes. Transaction processing is the process of debiting customers’ accounts and answering customer inquiries. There are several methods used for violation enforcement, including automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology. Highway patrol officers are usually posted by unmanned toll booths, acting as a visible, and effective, violation deterrent.
The four components are somewhat independent, and various toll agencies have contracted out functions separately. In some cases, this division of functions has resulted in difficulties. In one notable example, the New Jersey E-ZPass regional consortium's violation enforcement contractor did not have access to the violation processing contractor's database of customers. This, together with installation problems in the AVI system, led to many customers receiving erroneous violation notices incurring high levels of customer dissatisfaction. The contractor’s violation system’s net income, after expenses, was negative. (Wikipedia, citation below)
Technologies Used
The technologies used in ETC systems are described briefly below.
• Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI)
• Automatic Vehicle Classification (AVC)
• Video Enforcement Systems (VES)
• Vehicle Positioning Systems (VPS)

Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) Technologies:
The automatic vehicle identification (AVI) component of an electronic toll collection (ETC) system determines vehicle ownership for charging purposes.

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) and Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI)
Current ETC systems use radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags and transponders to automatically identify vehicles.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags. In ETC, these systems are sometimes simply referred to as transponders. Common RFID tags are stickers with an approximately .5 millimeter silicon chip and a small, flexible antenna. They rely on radio frequency waves to communicate with an electronic reader or antennae. The antenna transmits the information to the lane controller, which then sends the data to the host for processing. (See ETC Diagram) In ETC, RFID tags offer a contact-less technology and can be read through various environment conditions
RFID technology has been around since World War II and passive RFID tags are often used as anti-theft devices in stores. RFID tags that can gather and store information are somewhat controversial because of the potential to abusively gather information on people and invade privacy.
RFID tags in ETC systems can be passive or active. Active RFID tags are often used in large-scale ETC systems like Fastrak in California and throughout the Northeastern United States. Passive tags are much less expensive than active RFID tags. They are being used in Georgia, Texas, and certain developing nations.

Active RFID tags use an internal power source, such as a battery, and have the following characteristics:
1. On-board transmitter
2. Greater range but higher cost
3. Requires less power from reader
4. Finite life
Passive RFID tags are powered by energy from the reader and have the following characteristics:
1. Backscatter technology
2. Smaller, Lighter, less expensive
3. Almost unlimited life
4. Shorter range
5. Requires higher power from reader
(citation below)
Active RFID transponders consist of an integrated circuit attached to an antenna, typically a small coil of wires, plus some protective packaging.
In passive ETC systems, the lack of an onboard power supply means that the device can be quite small: commercially available products exist that can be embedded in a sticker. See the companies section for more information on companies who supply Passive RFID tags for ETC.
Passive RFID tags may become even less expensive. The average cost of a current RFID tag is 50 cents. Fluidic Self-Assembly, a method in which multiple chips are poured into a slurry, then shaken and assembled into a substrate, affixed to plastic, then cut out. In 2002, his Morgan Hill, Calif., company Alien Technology applied FSA, originally invented by Smith to integrate lasers onto silicon, to the manufacture of RFID tags. With FSA, Alien can currently product 2,000,000 tags per hour for about 20 cents eac , with the price expected to drop to 5 cents in three years. (http://www.citris-uc.org/publications/newsletter/february2005#feature2%20)
The Basics on RFID and ETC
In electronic toll collection (ETC), an RFID transponder in the vehicle communicates with an antenna at the toll gate via dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), a type of radio frequency waves. Active RFID transponders have proved to have excellent accuracy and can be read at highway speeds. The major disadvantage of using active RFID transponders in ETC is the cost of equipping each vehicle with a transponder. This can be a major start-up expense, if paid by the toll agency, or a strong customer deterrent, if paid by the customer. Below is a summary of general RFID transponder information.
1. Active RFID Transponders can be read-only or read-write. Read-write transponders allow information to be sent back to and stored on the transponder (e.g., the last time that the transponder was read).
2. Nonbattery transponders use radio wave energy to “bounce” information back to the reader. Nonbattery transponders have an “official” life of 15 years but could theoretically last forever.
3. Active RFID transponders have generally been packaged in small plastic cases that are generally mounted with Velcro strips to the windshield of a vehicle. The case is required for the internal electronics and batteries.
4. Recently, ETC providers have been introducing nonbattery-powered transponders that are packaged as stickers (or decals), which are applied to the windshield of a vehicle.
5. Transponders used for high-speed toll collection can range in cost from $10.00 to $40.00 apiece. Most battery powered transponders used for toll collection application range from $20.00 to $35.00 per unit. The sticker tags cost approximately $10.00 per unit. (Washington State Comprehensive Tolling Study, reference below)
6. Recently, policy considerations have suggested that vehicles that generate reduced emissions should pay reduced tolls. The identification of “green” vehicles can be accomplished through the use of RFID transponders.
Interoperability
While RFID transponders have many common features, the deployment of five different DSRC protocols for electronic toll collection in the United States have significant impact on interoperability. These deployments are generally geographically separated with limited need for interoperability initially. However, the lack of interoperability among these AVI technologies has been recognized as a significant problem.
Accordingly, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has commissioned a consortium of the major transponder manufacturers to develop a national DSRC standard. The device is being built around a newly allocated radio frequency (5.9 GHz) and the specific requirements of DSRC for transportation applications. The new DSRC transponder should be available for testing in early 2006, with a deployment decision by the U.S. DOT and the automotive industry expected in 2008. The new transponders could be part of new vehicles shortly after 2010. This means that it will take until at least 20 years for transponders to be incorporated into all U.S. autos, since it takes approximately 15 years for the entire America car fleet to turn over.
Roadside antenna (ETC roadside radio device)
1) These devices are installed at tollgate lanes where ETC can be used. They communicate by radio with the on-board equipment installed in vehicles passing through ETC lanes.
2) Roadside antennas are connected to computers for toll calculation. The tolls are calculated by these computers.
The basic process for ETC with Active RFID transponders is as follows:
1. As the vehicle enters the toll lane, sensors detect the vehicle’s presence (see Figure A).
2. A transponder mounted on the vehicle’s windshield transmits the tag status which is read by an electronic reader or antenna.
3. The antenna transmits the information to the lane controller, which then sends the data to the host for processing.
4. The corresponding customer account is charged. If the vehicle does not have a transponder, or a corresponding customer account cannot be identified, the system classifies the vehicle as a violator and cameras photograph the vehicle and its license plate.
Automatic Vehicle Classification (AVC)
Generally, tolls are differentiated by vehicle class. A vehicle’s class can be determined by the physical attributes of the vehicle, the number of occupants in the vehicle, the vehicle’s emissions, and the purpose for which the vehicle is being used at the time of classification (or some combination of these determinants). Some toll agencies use as many as 15 or more vehicle classes to assess tolls, although for ETC applications, four or five classes are more typical.

To classify a vehicle, a variety of vehicle sensors are used. Treadles count the number of axles as a vehicle passes over them. Light-curtains and laser profilers record the shape of the vehicle, which can help distinguish trucks and trailers. Advanced Inductive Loop sensors embedded in the road surface can determine length, speed, and number of axles of vehicles at highway speeds.

Many locations offer reduced fees to high occupancy vehicles (HOV’s). There are a few companies working on technology that quickly and accurately reads the number of people per vehicle. See Ridesharing for more information.
Vehicle Telematics Systems/GPS-BASED TOLL SYSTEM/ GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems)
“Vehicle Telematics Systems” refers to the integrated use of telecommunications and informatics, also known as Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Telematics have been applied specifically to the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology integrated with computers and mobile communications technology.
Vehicle telematics systems may be used for a number of purposes, including collecting road tolls and managing road usage. ETC systems may use GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) technology to reduce infrastructure costs and to facilitate regional tolling variations such as pollution-tax for highly polluted areas.
GPS-BASED TOLL SYSTEM/ GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems)
Installing a Global Positioning System (GPS) allows a vehicle to locate itself within a given charge area or network. The on-board unit contains the appropriate charging structure, as well as information concerning when the vehicle should be charged. Charges are applied using the position information provided by the GPS system. The charge can either be deducted directly from a smart card located in the on-board unit or stored for later uploading and charging against the customers account or billing the customer.
Charged corridors can be defined around specific zones in urban or rural areas where all vehicles (or specific categories) using the roadway will be subject to charges. The cost of the on-board units is estimated at between $200 and $400, depending on the level of sophistication of the device.
A few toll facilities cover a very wide area, making fixed toll gates impractical. The most notable of these is a truck tolling system in Germany. This system instead uses Global Positioning System location information to identify when a vehicle is located on a tolled Autobahn. Implementation of this system turned out to be far lengthier and more costly than expected. (See German Case Study.)
Vehicle location pricing technology is also being used for truck tolling systems in Switzerland. The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is conducting a demonstration of value pricing using this approach. The intent of this pilot project is to determine traveler response to value pricing and the effect of pricing on traveler decision making, and to help identify a potential path towards implementation. This technical approach is better suited to regional pricing applications as opposed to facility-based tolling. (Washington State Comprehensive Tolling Study, reference below)
Video Enforcement Systems (VES)- - Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)
Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR)
Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) is sometimes known by various other terms: automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), automatic vehicle identification (AVI), car plate recognition (CPR), license plate recognition (LPR), or electronic number plate (ENP) recognition.
ANPR is used for ETC enforcement as well as identification-for-tolling purposes.

ANPR Technology
ANPR uses optical character recognition (OCR) on to read images taken of vehicle license plates. The cameras used can include existing road-rule enforcement or closed-circuit television cameras as well as mobile units which are usually attached to vehicles. Some systems use infrared cameras to take a clearer image of the plates.
Some license plate arrangements use variations in font sizes and positioning – ANPR systems must be able to cope with such differences in order to be truly effective. More complicated systems can cope with international variants, though many programs are individually tailored to each country. Overall, there is an error rate that makes human oversight necessary. (Wikipedia, citation below)
As of 2006, systems can scan number plates at around one per second on cars traveling up to 100 mph (160 km/h). They can use existing closed-circuit television or road-rule enforcement cameras, or ones specifically designed for the task. They are used by various police forces and as a method of electronic toll collection on pay-per-use roads, and monitoring traffic activity such as red light adherence in an intersection.

ANPR for Violation Enforcement
Automated number plate recognition (ANPR) technology is used for enforcement with cameras that capture pictures of license plates of vehicles that fail to relay a usable tag ID. Information regarding the owners of such vehicles is obtained from the State’s vehicle registry. The major problem with ANPR is some inaccuracies that require manual verification. Inaccuracies may be due to lack of plate standards, dirty and damaged plates, incorrect plate mounting, differences in vehicle design and plate position, and ambiguity/similarity in letters/numbers (e.g. London VES errors arose from the similarity of letter O and number 0).
ANPR to Avoid the Need for Transponders
Most ETC systems that used ANPR to avoid the need for transponders have converted. Still, the 407 ETR near Toronto is a good example of an ETC system that relies heavily on ANPR for charging non-transponder-account holders.
Here, a system of cameras captures images of vehicles passing through tolled areas, and the image of the number plate is extracted and used to identify the vehicle. This allows customers to use the facility without any advance interaction with the toll agency. The Canadian system charges around $2.00 per ANPR-incurred charge. (Note: If you drive just 4 round trips per year on 407 ETR, then the total cost of a transponder is less than incurring the tolls charged via ANPR.)

The disadvantage is that fully automatic recognition has a significant error rate, leading to billing errors and the cost of transaction processing (which requires locating and corresponding with the customer) can be significant. Systems that incorporate a manual review stage have much lower error rates, but require a continuing staffing expense.
ANPR can be used to store the images captured by the cameras as well as the text from the license plate, with some configurable to store a photograph of the driver. Systems commonly use infrared lighting to allow the camera to take the picture at any time of day. A powerful flash is included in at least one version of the intersection-monitoring cameras, serving to both illuminate the picture and make the offender aware of his or her mistake. ANPR technology tends to be region specific, owing to plate variation from place to place.
Concerns about these systems have centered on privacy fears of government tracking citizens' movements and media reports of misidentification and high error rates. However, as they have developed, the systems have become much more accurate and reliable.

ANPR Difficulties
There are a number of possible difficulties that the software must be able to cope with. These include:
1. Poor image resolution, usually because the plate is too far away but sometimes resulting from the use of a low-quality camera.
2. Blurry images, particularly motion blur
3. Poor lighting and low contrast due to overexposure, reflection or shadows
4. An object obscuring (part of) the plate, quite often a tow bar, or dirt on the plate
5. A different font, popular for vanity plates (some countries do not allow such plates, eliminating the problem)
6. Circumvention techniques
Blurry images make OCR difficult – ANPR systems should have fast shutter speeds to avoid motion blur.
To avoid blurring it is ideal to have the shutter speed of a dedicated camera set to 1/1000th of a second. Because the car is moving, slower speeds could result in an image which is too blurred to read using the OCR software, especially if the camera is much higher up than the vehicle. In slow-moving traffic, or when the camera is at a lower level and the vehicle is at an angle approaching the camera, the shutter speed does not need to be so fast. Shutter speeds of 1/500 can cope with traffic moving up to 40 mph (64 km/h) and 1/250 up to 5 mph (8 km/h).
On some cars, towbars may obscure one or two characters of the license plate. Bikes on bike racks can also obscure the number plate, though in some countries and jurisdictions, such as New South Wales, "bike plates" are supposed to be fitted.
ANPR Circumvention techniques
Vehicle owners have used a variety of techniques in an attempt to evade ANPR systems and road-rule enforcement cameras in general. One method increases the reflective properties of the lettering and makes it more likely that the system will be unable to locate the plate or produce a high enough level of contrast to be able to read it. This is typically done by using a plate cover or a spray, though claims regarding the effectiveness of the latter are disputed. In most jurisdictions, the covers are illegal and covered under existing laws, while in most countries there is no law to disallow the use of the sprays.
Police enforcement
Closed-circuit television cameras such as these can be used to take the images scanned by automatic number plate recognition systems
Closed-circuit television cameras such as these can be used to take the images scanned by automatic number plate recognition systems. (Wikipedia, citation below)
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to provide for Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), either at the lane or as a back office function.
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ASSESSMENT
ETC Key Results

Market Demand Studies and Consumer Surveys: Motorist Acceptance of ETC Market demand studies and/or consumer surveys have been conducted to measure motorist acceptance of ETC systems, as well as their preferred ETC system characteristics. These studies typically research how demand for ETC varies with system characteristics or with user characteristics. The former includes payment and account renewal methods, transponder cost or rental fees, transponder location (in the vehicle), and even toll plaza configurations. Users are usually characterized by differences in their trip purpose or trip frequencies.
Findings show that motorists who travel frequently on the toll facility are more likely to express interest in ETC. High trip frequencies (five or more times a week) are typical of work commuters, who comprise the most likely market for ETC applications. Commercial vehicle operators, who may travel several times a week over the same facility, are also a large potential market of ETC users. In their case, however, the decision to subscribe to ETC is made by the employing company, not the driver, and lack of standardization across different ETC systems appears to hinder their acceptance.
Systems that do not allow post-payment of tolls or credit-card –linked accounts usually allow payment at the toll station by methods other than ETC. Two alternatives to this practice were implemented in Toronto (Highway 407) and Melbourne (City Link) respectively. In Toronto, enforcement cameras take pictures of the license plates of vehicles not equipped with a transponder; the picture is used to identify the owner of the vehicle, who is then issued a bill. In Melbourne, casual users need to buy a day pass before entering the toll road. Vehicles holding day passes do not have a physical card but rather are included in an electronic list of vehicles which may enter the facility without transponders.
In terms of system cost and payment renewal options, the results are also intuitive. In general, the more limited the number of payment options, the lower the participation rate. Moreover, as users are charged for a transponder deposit, annual rental fees, and/or per-transaction costs, participation declines.
Treatment of Visitors
Toll technology experts indicate that enforcement is usually not easy if both ETC users and non-users use the same corridor. This is a valid concern since visitors (drivers) to the system may not have readable transponders. One option is to let visitors drive for free. This would require the system to keep track of such vehicles (via Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) so that fines are not pursued.
Ideally, visitors would be required to purchase a ‘day pass’ to use the priced corridors. Melbourne, Australia’s CityLink program has a similar daily pass option for its users (CityLink, 2004). Visitors would be asked for their vehicle license plate information on purchase of a day pass (which could be bought online or at a roadside store, as in London’s cordon toll application). Vehicles without transponders, which use the priced corridors, would be detected by ANPR. And vehicles tied to a purchased ‘day pass’ would be removed from the violator list at day’s end. (http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/kockelman/public_html/TRB05CBCP.pdf)
ETC Benefits
Toll Lane Capacity
• Vehicles equipped with ETC require less time than all other vehicles to conduct a toll transaction. Thus the average service rate of a mixed toll lane is generally higher than a manual lane, depending on the proportion of tagged vehicles in a mixed-use lane.
• When exclusive ETC lanes are provided, the total number of vehicles serviced by all of the toll lanes is higher than it is when all lanes are mixed.
Vehicle Waiting Times
• An increase in a toll lane service rate causes a decrease in the average waiting time of vehicles at the toll plaza.
• Electronic toll collection saves New Jersey Turnpike travelers 2.1 million hours each year; reduces fuel wasted at toll stations.Analysis of traffic conditions at 27 toll stations on the New Jersey Turnpike indicated E-ZPass electronic toll collection saves cars and trucks about 1.8 million and 291,000 hours of travel time, respectively, each year. Reduced congestion was estimated to save 1.2 million gallons of fuel each year, save money, and reduce emissions.
Reduction of Vehicle Emissions
• Vehicle emissions are reduced because vehicle speeds through the toll plaza are increased and accelerations and decelerations reduced. A typical vehicle speed profile at a toll plaza shows vehicles decelerating as they approach the end of the queue (or the toll booth) to almost zero speed, and then accelerating to prevailing highway speeds after exiting the booths. With ETC, vehicles will decelerate to higher speeds, or may not decelerate at all.
• The implementation of E-Z Pass at the New Jersey Turnpike in September 2000 reduced fuel consumption by 1.2 million gallons per year (i.e. due to reduced queuing). Estimates of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emissions have been reduced by 0.35 tons per weekday with 80 percent of the reduction resulting from improved light-duty vehicle performance. Estimates of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions have been reduced by 0.056 tons per weekday with 58 percent of the reduction resulting from improved heavy-duty vehicle performance.
Reduction of Toll User Costs
• ETC can potentially reduce the cost of processing toll transactions. When E-Z Pass was implemented at the New Jersey Turnpike in September 2000, delays at toll plazas were greatly reduced. This resulted in user costs of $19.0 million per year for passenger cars and $6.1 million per year for trucks, making a total annual saving of $25.1 million.
Simplified Infrastructure and Accounting System
• ETC requires far less roadside infrastructure than manual tollbooths.
• By automating toll collection and vehicle counting, ETC simplifies the accounting system as well as the allocation of revenue between peak and non-peak hours.
Vehicle Positioning Systems (VPS)/Global Positioning Systems (GPS) require less infrastructure
• GPS-based ETC systems have notable advantages over standard dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) systems. One advantage is that road infrastructure, which can be expensive and often infeasible due to space constraints, is no longer needed. Another advantage is that vehicle positioning systems offer greater flexibility in defining or changing payment systems. ETC often needs alterations when changes in traffic or land-use patterns occur; with traditional ETC systems, this would require actual changes in ETC road infrastructure. However, with a GPS-based system, this could be readily done by redefining the "virtual" toll areas. The main disadvantages of GPS-based systems are its higher costs of implementation.
Wireless communications have greater data capabilities
• Various forms of wireless communications technologies have been proposed for intelligent transportation systems. Short-range communications (less than 500 yards) can be accomplished using IEEE 802.11 protocols or the Dedicated Short Range Communications standard being promoted by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America and the United States Department of Transportation. Theoretically the range of these protocols can be extended using Mobile ad-hoc networks or Mesh networking.
• Longer range communications has been proposed using infrastructure networks such as WiMAX (IEEE 802.16), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) or 3G. Long-range communications using these methods is well established, but unlike the short-range protocols these methods require extensive and very expensive infrastructure deployment. There is lack of consensus as to what business model should support this infrastructure. (wikipedia)
Costs
Toll Agency Costs
• Cost per transaction of an ETC system: from $0.05 to $0.10. In comparison, the cost per transaction in a manual collection system is approximately $0.086. Cost projections estimated for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority indicates that a full ETC interchange can cost as little as one-quarter to one-fifth the cost of a conventional cash toll interchange. While a conventional interchange requires 25 full-time employees (assuming four toll booths), at a cost of up to one-third of the toll collection revenue, the ETC option would require only one maintenance person and account support (ITS International, 1997).
User Costs
• ETC users are usually required to purchase, rent, or place a deposit on the in-vehicle equipment. Some providers offer transponders free of charge.

The cost of a transponder varies between $15 and $50. Systems sometimes charge a deposit for a transponder. ETC systems may also charge rental fees. Additional out-of-pocket costs may include a per-transaction cost and/or service fees. Most systems require a minimum initial deposit of $20 or more on the user's account, if the user does not register a credit card. If a credit card is registered for automatic deposit, there are minimal (if any) user costs in the realm of user charges and transaction fees.
Implementation and Operational Challenges
Payment Enforcement
ANPR Processing for Toll Evaders – see ANPR section
Payment enforcement can be labor intensive. Payment enforcement methods can depend on the payment options available at the toll lane and on whether tollgates are used. Video cameras are installed to photograph the license plates of vehicles that evade payment on lanes without tollgates and on ETC-only lanes. Violation pictures are often reviewed manually. License plates are identified and checked against the toll agency or department of vehicle registration records in order to identify the owner of the vehicle.
Legal and Technical Criteria for Payment Enforcement
The payment enforcement system must meet legal and technical criteria. The legal criteria include all state legal procedural and record keeping requirements as well as those related to admissibility of evidence in court (i.e. in case tickets are contested). The technical requirements are related to the accuracy of the violation detection and notice issuance system. This accuracy is expressed in terms of the number of violations issued in error for every 100,000 issued violations. The ITS America ETTM (Electronic Toll Collection and Traffic Management) Task Force recommends a maximum of 3 per 100,000, with a desirable goal of 1 per 100,000. Field tests in Singapore resulted in 100% charging accuracy and 100% assignment of fraud vehicles, estimated over 7,700 transactions. It would appear that this magnitude of sample size is not large enough to statistically ensure that the system is operating at the required level of accuracy, however more information is needed to be able to state this conclusively.
Automatic Vehicle Classification (AVC)
The in-road sensors used to classify vehicles at tollbooths require extensive infrastructure. Recent developments in automatic vehicle classification may lead to electronic smart tags that can transmit a user’s account information as well as their vehicle’s class. Although not yet widely implemented, these tags could greatly simplify the classification process.
To speed up the classification process, toll agencies usually collapse their vehicle classification system into at most four to ten classes. Contrary to this practice, the California Department of Transportation chose to request a system able to classify vehicles into its existing 17 classes. The chosen ETC provider failed to achieved the accuracy specified for the automatic vehicle classification system (99.95%), and as a result has needed to redesign and retest its technology, postponing the opening of ETC on the San Francisco Bay Area bridges by several months.
Communications
Although wireless communication is becoming the preferred mode of data transmission, it still has its limitations. For the most part, currently available ITS wireless information transmission services suffer limitations with respect to data capability, coverage, and interoperability.
User Privacy
One of the most frequently voiced concerns over ETC systems is the user privacy issue. Planners have been concerned that the general public would reject ETC for fear of having their movements recorded by the government. By and large this appears to not be a problem for existing systems. In fact, user surveys show that motorists prefer methods of payment that are not anonymous, such as credit cards. However, this should not be construed as meaning that patrons are indifferent to having information about their travel released. Toll agencies find that they still have to protect themselves, and their patrons, against unauthorized use of account information. Besides ensuring the security of all data transfers, toll agencies find it useful to draft legislation prohibiting the use of patron travel information for purposes other than toll collection and enforcement.
Interoperability
The deployment of ETC is well established in North America and overseas. The E-ZPass Program, under the Interagency Group in the eastern part of the United States, involves over 20 separate toll agencies and 11 million transponders. The FasTrak Program in California has over 1.25 million transponders and is statewide. Out of this experience, key customer service expectations have been identified based upon experience at other toll facilities, and market research, including surveys and focus groups.
Customer Service Expectations:
1. One “Gizmo” – Only one on-board device (i.e., transponder) would be required in the customer’s vehicle for electronic toll collection payment;
2. One Number – A single customer service telephone number would be available for all tolling customer inquiries; and
3. One Statement – A consolidated statement would be provided to the customer for all activity at all tolling facilities.
Interoperability issues are in play at several levels. At the transponder level, a customer can use the same physical transponder on all of the interoperable facilities, but the customer must set up a separate account with each agency or facility. This approach is used for electronic weigh station bypass programs, where trucks are equipped with the same transponder, but must register for the program that is used by a specific state. For example, the program in Washington State uses the same transponder for the program in California, but the trucker must be registered with both programs.
Peer-to-Peer interoperability means that separate customer service centers are maintained by agencies that have agreed that they will exchange transactions and account files so that the customer has only one transponder and one account. However, for transaction and violation inquiries, customers may be required to deal with separate customer service centers, depending on the facility that they used. The E-ZPass Program, which extends from Maine to Virginia with over 20 separate toll agencies and 11 million transponders, is an excellent example of the successful implementation of a Peer-to-Peer approach.

Consolidated Operations is the ultimate form of interoperability. It establishes a single customer service organization where there is one account, one system, and one point of contact. The single consolidated operations approach has evolved in many areas, because of the potential cost savings and the provision of consolidated customer service. A recent example is the consolidation of systems and customer service centers in the San Francisco Bay Area from two to one. (Washington State Comprehensive Tolling Study, reference below)
Deployment in Existing Plazas
Most current applications of ETC involve retrofitting manual or automatic coin machine toll lanes with new ETC equipment. Besides managing traffic disruptions during the reconstruction phase, toll authorities need to decide how to introduce ETC within their current toll plaza configuration. Labor issues should also be considered when implementing ETC on an existing toll facility. Union contracts need to be renegotiated as the number of available jobs decreases and as job descriptions change. Although not necessarily opposed to the installation of ETC technologies, unions will try to protect their turf.
Funding Issues
Increasingly, countries are looking at public-private partnerships to implement ITS projects.
Political opposition in United States’ states such as Washington and Arizona makes the privatization of toll roads across the United States far from assured in the near term. Private enterprises must contend with considerable hurdles before receiving construction approval. Operators report that some of the highest costs of an ETC project can result during preconstruction phases. Tasks such as lobbying for passage of privatization legislation, acquiring land, raising investment capital, and conducting detailed environmental studies can cost of millions of dollars over several years.

Funding Issues: Trailblazers
Decades ago, European governments began looking toward the private sector for help, and Spain in the 1960s had private concessionaires built its autopista network. France followed with private autoroute concessions in the 1970s. Typically, these concessionaires were consortia made up of construction firms and banks. That basic arrangement is being used in the United States today.
Funding Issues: Public-Private Partnerships
In the 1980s, the United Kingdom became the leading proponent of PPPs in Europe. In 1981, the Conservative government issued the so-called Riley Rule, which provided for private-sector involvement in transportation infrastructure development when the benefits of doing so exceeded costs.

The Thatcher government adopted the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in 1992 as the preferred approach for developing infrastructure of all types for the British government.
Funding Issues: Shadow Toll
The PFI ushered in the “shadow toll” approach. Under shadow toll, the public- sector project sponsor pays “tolls” to the private concessionaire based on the performance of the facility, often measured in terms of traffic flow, safety, and availability. Drivers themselves do not pay tolls. The major advantage of shadow toll to the private concessionaire relates to traffic risk. By not requiring drivers to pay tolls, their choice of which route to use is based entirely on time and convenience, and is much easier to predict. The downside of this approach is that a payment cap limits the profit that the concessionaire can make in the franchise. For the government, the benefits include speeding up project delivery, bypassing the need to obtain government funding in future budget cycles, and incenting the concessionaire to achieve high performance. A total of 10 DBFO shadow toll projects involving more than 480 miles of roads and a construction value of about $2 billion were awarded by the British Highways Agency.
Other European nations such as Finland and Spain emulated the British approach. But shadow toll is a cumbersome approach that requires a lot of traffic data. The British, Finish, and Spanish projects all involved upgrades of existing assets, whose traffic data already existed This problem was made evident when Portugal wanted to use shadow toll for 7 new road projects costing 2.7 billion Euros. The sheer size of the investment program rendered the approach infeasible. In addition, the experiment would have overwhelmed the budget of the Junta Autónoma de Estradas (the Portuguese highway agency) when an annual outlay of $700 million would have been required for shadow toll payments.
Availability Payment
The availability payment approach can be viewed as the simplified form of shadow toll. Like shadow toll, the public sponsor of a facility pays the private concessionaire; users of the facility do not. But unlike shadow toll, availability payment does not require large volume of information to determine performance. This simplification has made availability payment the preferred approach for new concessions in which the public sponsor, rather than users, of the facility pays. In the United States, the freight tunnel to the Port of Miami is the most recent example of this approach. http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=51
See “Orange County congestion pricing” case study for one example of private-public partnership in the United States.