ELECTRONIC TOLL COLLECTION

ELECTRONIC TOLL COLLECTION


What Is It?

• Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) is a generally mature technology that allows for electronic payment of highway tolls. Click on the "Benefit-Cost Analysis" menu item at left to view ETC benefit-cost spreadsheets.
• ETC systems take advantage of vehicle-to-roadside communication technologies (traditionally via microwave or infrared communication, more recently via GPS technology) to perform an electronic monetary transaction between a vehicle passing through a toll station and the toll agency. ETC systems require Onboard units (OBU), vehicle detection and classification as well as enforcement technologies.
• Essentially, ETC equipment substitutes for having a person (or coin machine) to manually collect tolls at toll booths. In addition, it allows such transactions to be performed while vehicles travel at (almost) highway cruising speed.
• ETC systems will also soon emerge as the most efficient way to implement congestion pricing. See our Telecommunications Diagram on ETC for more information.




Benefits
• A 2005 study found that Electronic toll collection systems reduce environmentally harmful emissions 16 to 63% at toll plazas.
• Increase in toll lane capacity
• Reduction in motorist waiting time
• Convenience for toll payers
• Fuel savings and a decrease in mobile emissions by reducing or eliminating waiting times
• Reduction in toll collection costs and enhancement of audit control by centralizing user accounts
• Greatly enhances the possibility to implement congestion pricing by breaking technical barriers: non-intrusive toll collection requires much less infrastructure, automatic vehicle counting and classification and automated accounting systems.
• Digital license plate recognition devices can accurately and efficiently identify toll violators.
• ETC systems are emerging as a very cost-effective and efficient manner of implementing traffic surveillance. GPS-based ETC may emerge as a more efficient manner of implementing surveillance for a host of reasons.

Costs
• Installation and maintenance of vehicle-to-roadside communication technologies, Onboard units, vehicle detection and classification as well as enforcement technologies.
• Standardization and technical interoperability of systems impose costs.
• Marketing, stakeholder involvement efforts





Where is it implemented?
Europe
Germany, Italy, Austria, France and Czech Republic
• Austria - go-maut [1] for the national Autobahn network in Austria
• Germany - LKW-MAUT for trucks on Autobahns, Germany
• Italy - TELEPASS on Autostrade motorways in Italy
• France - Télépéage usually branded liber-t on French motorways (run by the Federation of French Motorway Companies)(ASFA).
• Czech Republic – premid for trucks on highways (2007)

United Kingdom and Ireland
• Ireland - Eazy Pass on national toll roads in Ireland
• United Kingdom - Tamar Bridge planned for 2006


Rest of Europe
• Portugal - Via Verde (all tolls)
• Turkey - OGS
• Spain - VIA-Tor Telepeaje
North America
Canada
• Southern Ontario - 407 ETR - http://www.407etr.com/
Mexico

United States
• Puerto Rico - AutoExpreso
• Florida - C-Pass in Key Biscayne
• Atlanta, Georgia - Cruise Card in

South America
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Passe Expresso for the Yellow Line
• Santiago,Chile - Autopista Central

Caribbean
• Jamaica – 2006

Asia
• Electronic Road Pricing Gantry at North Bridge Road, Singapore.
• Electronic Road Pricing Gantry at North Bridge Road, Singapore.
• ETCS in Korea
•

Oceania
Australia
• Brisbane, Queensland - Gateway Motorway