24-07-2012, 10:02 AM
Electronic Toll Collection
[attachment=28588]
Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) evolved in an
attempt to speed up traffic flow and minimize
queuing at toll plazas. The basic definition of
ETC is a toll system that allows drivers to pay the toll
without paying cash at the toll plaza. Thus, methods
of payment for ETC systems include SmartCards,
prepaid accounts, monthly charged accounts, as well
as systems that automatically debit money directly
from the user’s bank account. ETC systems offer the
toll operator the advantage of lower labor costs—no
one is needed to collect the tolls—in addition to the
advantage it provides the motorists via elimination of
queuing and faster travel.
EZ PASS
A well known example of an ETC system in the United
States is the E-ZPass system present in the northeast
corridor. The original E-ZPass system, installed in
1993, required that drivers whose vehicles were
equipped with the E-ZPass
transponder stop or slow
to less than 5 mph in the
toll booth, while the system
verified the transponder and
recorded the transaction.
This system was still
significantly faster than the
traditional methods of
paying via cash or tokens.
On the Garden State
Parkway, a toll road in New
Jersey utilizing ETC
technology, average
collection time for E-ZPass
is three seconds compared
to 9.6 for cash and 4.6 for
token based transactions
(Peters & Kramer, 2003). While this represents a
significant time savings and thereby increases the total
number of vehicles that can pass through a toll plaza,
this ETC technology is not nearly as advanced as ETC
technology that is in place today in several parts of the
world, although the basic components of the systems
are quite similar.
FREE FLOW TOLLING
The new ETC technology is also referred to as free
flow tolling, because the system allows cars to pass
through the toll gantries without deviating from typical
highway speeds. This technology, in combination with
OCR that allows the system to read the license plates
of vehicles without transponders, creates a system
where there is no longer a need for a toll plaza, and
their accompanying congestion. Since free flow ETC
means that travel plazas are no longer necessary, it is
possible to install tolling equipment on virtually any
road, no matter the amount of space available. This is a
picture of a tolling point on a free flow tolling highway.
As can be seen, there are no lane or speed restrictions
that accompany the large tolling plazas often seen in
the United States. Additionally, the tolling points do
not require any additional land to operate.
The removal of congestion and land availability
concerns allow planners to further implement tolling
for a variety of purposes including raising funds to
pay for maintenance costs, raising funds to pay for
the cost of the roadway, variable pricing to influence
traffic patterns (i.e. discouraging travel during peak
periods with higher toll fees), and finally promoting
more efficient lane use by allowing single occupant
vehicles access to high occupancy vehicle lanes by
paying a toll.
How It Works
How ETC works is that
each vehicle is equipped
with a transponder or
Dedicated Short Range
Communication (DSRC)
device. When the vehicle
nears a toll point, an
overhead antenna sends
a signal to the DSRC.
Then, depending on the
type of DSRC employed,
the signal is either
reflected with slight
modification, or a
different signal is sent
back to the control tower.
The signal modification is device unique allowing the
system to identify the user by the signal. The user
information is then relayed from the toll site to a central
computer system that processes all toll transactions.
Depending on the type of tolling system, open, closed,
etc, the computer keeps a record of each time that
a vehicle crosses the barrier and then compiles the
total toll once the vehicle has left the tollway. Once
this occurs, the toll procession computers relay the
information to a different set of computers that then
bill the user, either by debiting or adding the bill to a
monthly invoice.
Canada 407 Express Toll Route
The Raytheon system was first implemented with
the opening of the 407 Express Toll Route (ETR) in
Toronto in October of 1997. The 407 ETR is a closed
access toll road, meaning that there are toll gantries at every
entrance and exit of the road. What is unique about the 407 ETR
is that there are no cash transactions whatsoever. In addition
to the typical ETC transaction which entails an information
exchange between the vehicle DSRC and roadside communication
equipment, the system utilizes cameras equipped with Optical
Character Recognition [OCR] that are capable of photographing
and identifying the license plates of all cars passing through the
system without transponders. This allows the operators of the
407 to send a bill to the address of the vehicle owner each time
it passes through the toll. This system allows vehicles to pass
through tolls at full highway speed. Since there is no slowing in
order to pay the toll, there is no additional congestion or pollution
caused by tolling. These two facts help to alleviate concerns
raised about the true cost of toll collection on our highways.
For example, Peters and Kramer 2003 Transportation Quarterly
article sets out to demonstrate the true costs of toll collection—
including administrative,
compliance, and
environmental costs. In
this study, Peters and
Kramer find that the
additional pollution
costs caused by tolling
on the Garden State
Parkway [GSP] in New
Jersey were equivalent
to 8.3 percent of the
revenue collected and
22.3 percent of the total
cost of the system. On
the GSP, additional
pollutants are created
because both vehicles
equipped with DSRC
and those vehicles that
are going to pay by cash
or token have to slow to a near or complete stop and then
reaccelerate to highway speed. This acceleration produces more
pollutants than if the cars did not stop to pay the toll. However,
by creating a toll system in which vehicles can pass through the
gantries at normal highway speed, often called free flow tolling,
the 407 ETR’s tolling system does not cause additional pollution,
and thereby makes tolling a more efficient means of revenue
collection.
In order to identify cars passing through the toll gantry without the
transponder, the Raytheon system employed on the 407 ETR uses
two laser beam scanners placed above the roadway. In addition to
identifying all vehicles passing through the roadway, the system
also classifies each vehicle into a specific tolling category. This
allows the operators of the ETR to maximize their revenues,
by charging longer vehicles a higher toll. This is also more
equitable—longer vehicles are also more likely to be heavier thus
causing more wear and tear than typical vehicles. Returning to
vehicle identification, the lasers note each vehicle as it breaks the
barrier. The computers then match this set of vehicles to the set
of vehicles it is receiving signals from via the in vehicle DSRC.
Any vehicle without a transponder is then selected to have its
license plate photographed. When the vehicle clears the second
laser beam plane, a camera to photograph the license plate is
triggered. This photograph is then electronically processed with
OCR to identify and bill the owner. The computer system breaks
down the license plate photographs into three categories—high
confidence, low confidence or OCR unreadable. If a read is in
the first category, it is then sent directly to the billing computers,
which on the 407 ETR are referred to as the Revenue Management
Service or RMS. The second two categories are manually
processed by humans to identify the license plate number and
then sent to the RMS for billing. About 80 percent of the license
plate images are OCR high confidence meaning that only 20
percent of the non-transponder users of the 407 ETR require any
direct human labor in the tolling process. In June 1998, about 67
percent of weekday traffic had transponders meaning that about 93
percent of all traffic was identified and billed only by computers—
representing a significant labor savings to the operators of the
ETR.
In order to defray the
higher infrastructure costs
associated with reading
license plates, there is an
additional $3.30 fee
charged to all light
vehicles using the 407
without a transponder.
Transponders are
mandatory for all vehicles
weighing more than 5000
kilograms. Additionally,
any light vehicle passing
through the system with
unreadable license plates
is subject to a $50.00 toll
per trip. This same
$50.00 fee also applies to
all heavy vehicles using
the 407 without a
transponder. There is a variable pricing plan on the 407, with
tolls increasing by .85 cents per kilometer for light vehicles, 1.7
cents per kilometer for heavy vehicles, and 2.55 cents for multiple
trailer heavy vehicles. If a multiple trailer vehicle were to travel
the entire 108 km of the 407, the driver would save about $2.75
by not traveling with peak tolls.
Cross-Israel Highway
A second Raytheon system, operated by the Canadian Highways
Infrastructure Corporation, the same company that operates the
407 ETR in Toronto, is being constructed in Israel. This tollway,
referred to as the Cross-Israel Highway, Highway 6, or the Yitzhak
Rabin Highway, is built on much the same technology as the
407 ETR. However, rather than have a closed tolling system,
with tolls at every entrance and exit, Highway 6 has tolling
gantries on the main road. This system requires significantly less
infrastructure costs, but operates in exactly the same manner as
the 407. Unlike the 407, Highway 6 will not directly bill vehicles
without transponders. Rather, it is necessary for a vehicle without
a transponder to purchase a day or trip pass. This will register the
license plate with the system. Any vehicle that is not registered
and also does not have a transponder is considered a violator,
and the system automatically relays the license plate number
The interworkings of the Raytheon free flow tolling system
downstream to an enforcement officer that can collect the toll and
a fine.
Switzerland Heavy Vehicle Fee
Many researchers are turning towards GPS systems as a means of
modernizing toll systems. Switzerland has implemented a tolling
system that uses GPS receivers. In Switzerland, a Heavy Vehicle
Fee (HFV) was instituted on January 1st of 2001. The fee is
designed in order to force the operators of heavy trucks, which
do the most damage to the roadways and the environment, to be
forced to more accurately pay for the societal cost of their actions.
The HVF is assessed to all vehicles that have a maximum fully
loaded weight of more than 3.5 metric tons [about 7700 pounds].
The specific trip fees are calculated based upon the total kilometers
traveled on all Swiss roads, the maximum weight of the vehicle,
and the amount of pollution that the vehicle emits.
Each vehicle is assessed a fee for each mile that it travels,
regardless of road type. In order to record the number of miles
traveled, each Swiss heavy vehicle is required to install an On
Board Unit or OBU. The OBU records the distance a vehicle
has traveled via a tachograph’s direct cable connection to the
tachometer of the heavy vehicle. The cable connection prevents
user fraud. Additionally, the OBU contains a DSRC receiver,
similar to those found in other tolling systems around the world.
In addition to relaying information about vehicle miles traveled for
billing purposes, the DSRC activates and deactivates the OBU at
Swiss border crossings. Finally, the OBU contains a GPS receiver,
which serves as a double check of the tachometer reading and
whether or not the vehicle is inside of Switzerland. In order
for the operator to interact with the OBU, it has a fairly simple
keyboard and monitor. The keyboard and monitor make use of
symbols to ensure that the OBU can be used by people who speak
various languages. The OBU costs about $750 US, and is optional
for all non-Swiss vehicles.
[attachment=28588]
Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) evolved in an
attempt to speed up traffic flow and minimize
queuing at toll plazas. The basic definition of
ETC is a toll system that allows drivers to pay the toll
without paying cash at the toll plaza. Thus, methods
of payment for ETC systems include SmartCards,
prepaid accounts, monthly charged accounts, as well
as systems that automatically debit money directly
from the user’s bank account. ETC systems offer the
toll operator the advantage of lower labor costs—no
one is needed to collect the tolls—in addition to the
advantage it provides the motorists via elimination of
queuing and faster travel.
EZ PASS
A well known example of an ETC system in the United
States is the E-ZPass system present in the northeast
corridor. The original E-ZPass system, installed in
1993, required that drivers whose vehicles were
equipped with the E-ZPass
transponder stop or slow
to less than 5 mph in the
toll booth, while the system
verified the transponder and
recorded the transaction.
This system was still
significantly faster than the
traditional methods of
paying via cash or tokens.
On the Garden State
Parkway, a toll road in New
Jersey utilizing ETC
technology, average
collection time for E-ZPass
is three seconds compared
to 9.6 for cash and 4.6 for
token based transactions
(Peters & Kramer, 2003). While this represents a
significant time savings and thereby increases the total
number of vehicles that can pass through a toll plaza,
this ETC technology is not nearly as advanced as ETC
technology that is in place today in several parts of the
world, although the basic components of the systems
are quite similar.
FREE FLOW TOLLING
The new ETC technology is also referred to as free
flow tolling, because the system allows cars to pass
through the toll gantries without deviating from typical
highway speeds. This technology, in combination with
OCR that allows the system to read the license plates
of vehicles without transponders, creates a system
where there is no longer a need for a toll plaza, and
their accompanying congestion. Since free flow ETC
means that travel plazas are no longer necessary, it is
possible to install tolling equipment on virtually any
road, no matter the amount of space available. This is a
picture of a tolling point on a free flow tolling highway.
As can be seen, there are no lane or speed restrictions
that accompany the large tolling plazas often seen in
the United States. Additionally, the tolling points do
not require any additional land to operate.
The removal of congestion and land availability
concerns allow planners to further implement tolling
for a variety of purposes including raising funds to
pay for maintenance costs, raising funds to pay for
the cost of the roadway, variable pricing to influence
traffic patterns (i.e. discouraging travel during peak
periods with higher toll fees), and finally promoting
more efficient lane use by allowing single occupant
vehicles access to high occupancy vehicle lanes by
paying a toll.
How It Works
How ETC works is that
each vehicle is equipped
with a transponder or
Dedicated Short Range
Communication (DSRC)
device. When the vehicle
nears a toll point, an
overhead antenna sends
a signal to the DSRC.
Then, depending on the
type of DSRC employed,
the signal is either
reflected with slight
modification, or a
different signal is sent
back to the control tower.
The signal modification is device unique allowing the
system to identify the user by the signal. The user
information is then relayed from the toll site to a central
computer system that processes all toll transactions.
Depending on the type of tolling system, open, closed,
etc, the computer keeps a record of each time that
a vehicle crosses the barrier and then compiles the
total toll once the vehicle has left the tollway. Once
this occurs, the toll procession computers relay the
information to a different set of computers that then
bill the user, either by debiting or adding the bill to a
monthly invoice.
Canada 407 Express Toll Route
The Raytheon system was first implemented with
the opening of the 407 Express Toll Route (ETR) in
Toronto in October of 1997. The 407 ETR is a closed
access toll road, meaning that there are toll gantries at every
entrance and exit of the road. What is unique about the 407 ETR
is that there are no cash transactions whatsoever. In addition
to the typical ETC transaction which entails an information
exchange between the vehicle DSRC and roadside communication
equipment, the system utilizes cameras equipped with Optical
Character Recognition [OCR] that are capable of photographing
and identifying the license plates of all cars passing through the
system without transponders. This allows the operators of the
407 to send a bill to the address of the vehicle owner each time
it passes through the toll. This system allows vehicles to pass
through tolls at full highway speed. Since there is no slowing in
order to pay the toll, there is no additional congestion or pollution
caused by tolling. These two facts help to alleviate concerns
raised about the true cost of toll collection on our highways.
For example, Peters and Kramer 2003 Transportation Quarterly
article sets out to demonstrate the true costs of toll collection—
including administrative,
compliance, and
environmental costs. In
this study, Peters and
Kramer find that the
additional pollution
costs caused by tolling
on the Garden State
Parkway [GSP] in New
Jersey were equivalent
to 8.3 percent of the
revenue collected and
22.3 percent of the total
cost of the system. On
the GSP, additional
pollutants are created
because both vehicles
equipped with DSRC
and those vehicles that
are going to pay by cash
or token have to slow to a near or complete stop and then
reaccelerate to highway speed. This acceleration produces more
pollutants than if the cars did not stop to pay the toll. However,
by creating a toll system in which vehicles can pass through the
gantries at normal highway speed, often called free flow tolling,
the 407 ETR’s tolling system does not cause additional pollution,
and thereby makes tolling a more efficient means of revenue
collection.
In order to identify cars passing through the toll gantry without the
transponder, the Raytheon system employed on the 407 ETR uses
two laser beam scanners placed above the roadway. In addition to
identifying all vehicles passing through the roadway, the system
also classifies each vehicle into a specific tolling category. This
allows the operators of the ETR to maximize their revenues,
by charging longer vehicles a higher toll. This is also more
equitable—longer vehicles are also more likely to be heavier thus
causing more wear and tear than typical vehicles. Returning to
vehicle identification, the lasers note each vehicle as it breaks the
barrier. The computers then match this set of vehicles to the set
of vehicles it is receiving signals from via the in vehicle DSRC.
Any vehicle without a transponder is then selected to have its
license plate photographed. When the vehicle clears the second
laser beam plane, a camera to photograph the license plate is
triggered. This photograph is then electronically processed with
OCR to identify and bill the owner. The computer system breaks
down the license plate photographs into three categories—high
confidence, low confidence or OCR unreadable. If a read is in
the first category, it is then sent directly to the billing computers,
which on the 407 ETR are referred to as the Revenue Management
Service or RMS. The second two categories are manually
processed by humans to identify the license plate number and
then sent to the RMS for billing. About 80 percent of the license
plate images are OCR high confidence meaning that only 20
percent of the non-transponder users of the 407 ETR require any
direct human labor in the tolling process. In June 1998, about 67
percent of weekday traffic had transponders meaning that about 93
percent of all traffic was identified and billed only by computers—
representing a significant labor savings to the operators of the
ETR.
In order to defray the
higher infrastructure costs
associated with reading
license plates, there is an
additional $3.30 fee
charged to all light
vehicles using the 407
without a transponder.
Transponders are
mandatory for all vehicles
weighing more than 5000
kilograms. Additionally,
any light vehicle passing
through the system with
unreadable license plates
is subject to a $50.00 toll
per trip. This same
$50.00 fee also applies to
all heavy vehicles using
the 407 without a
transponder. There is a variable pricing plan on the 407, with
tolls increasing by .85 cents per kilometer for light vehicles, 1.7
cents per kilometer for heavy vehicles, and 2.55 cents for multiple
trailer heavy vehicles. If a multiple trailer vehicle were to travel
the entire 108 km of the 407, the driver would save about $2.75
by not traveling with peak tolls.
Cross-Israel Highway
A second Raytheon system, operated by the Canadian Highways
Infrastructure Corporation, the same company that operates the
407 ETR in Toronto, is being constructed in Israel. This tollway,
referred to as the Cross-Israel Highway, Highway 6, or the Yitzhak
Rabin Highway, is built on much the same technology as the
407 ETR. However, rather than have a closed tolling system,
with tolls at every entrance and exit, Highway 6 has tolling
gantries on the main road. This system requires significantly less
infrastructure costs, but operates in exactly the same manner as
the 407. Unlike the 407, Highway 6 will not directly bill vehicles
without transponders. Rather, it is necessary for a vehicle without
a transponder to purchase a day or trip pass. This will register the
license plate with the system. Any vehicle that is not registered
and also does not have a transponder is considered a violator,
and the system automatically relays the license plate number
The interworkings of the Raytheon free flow tolling system
downstream to an enforcement officer that can collect the toll and
a fine.
Switzerland Heavy Vehicle Fee
Many researchers are turning towards GPS systems as a means of
modernizing toll systems. Switzerland has implemented a tolling
system that uses GPS receivers. In Switzerland, a Heavy Vehicle
Fee (HFV) was instituted on January 1st of 2001. The fee is
designed in order to force the operators of heavy trucks, which
do the most damage to the roadways and the environment, to be
forced to more accurately pay for the societal cost of their actions.
The HVF is assessed to all vehicles that have a maximum fully
loaded weight of more than 3.5 metric tons [about 7700 pounds].
The specific trip fees are calculated based upon the total kilometers
traveled on all Swiss roads, the maximum weight of the vehicle,
and the amount of pollution that the vehicle emits.
Each vehicle is assessed a fee for each mile that it travels,
regardless of road type. In order to record the number of miles
traveled, each Swiss heavy vehicle is required to install an On
Board Unit or OBU. The OBU records the distance a vehicle
has traveled via a tachograph’s direct cable connection to the
tachometer of the heavy vehicle. The cable connection prevents
user fraud. Additionally, the OBU contains a DSRC receiver,
similar to those found in other tolling systems around the world.
In addition to relaying information about vehicle miles traveled for
billing purposes, the DSRC activates and deactivates the OBU at
Swiss border crossings. Finally, the OBU contains a GPS receiver,
which serves as a double check of the tachometer reading and
whether or not the vehicle is inside of Switzerland. In order
for the operator to interact with the OBU, it has a fairly simple
keyboard and monitor. The keyboard and monitor make use of
symbols to ensure that the OBU can be used by people who speak
various languages. The OBU costs about $750 US, and is optional
for all non-Swiss vehicles.