Toll Collection

Toll Collection

• One of the early widespread adopters of ITS

• Some of the most obvious benefits from ITS adoption

Toll Collection

• Benefits– Reduced staffing requirements (1 person =

$100,000 annually)– Improved revenue control

• 100,000 cars * $2 * 365 * 1% = $730,000 annually

– Easier toll rate changes– Easier toll payment (customer perspective)– Reduced cost of revenue collection

Benefits (cont)

– Decreased space needs for toll booths– Decreased

• vehicle conflicts • congestion • environmental impacts

– Faster travel times

Toll Collection Costs (functionality)

• Vehicle identification hardware– Devices on the vehicle– Readers at the roadside– Or – GPS with wireless communications

• Customer database creation

• Connection between reader and database

Costs (cont)

• Billing / bill processing

• Toll evasion enforcement

• Audit / revenue control

• Customer relations – Customer service – Customer interaction

Toll Collection – Issues

• How fast are your vehicles going?

• What lane discipline exists?

These affect:

• Vehicle Identification technology– Specialized tags versus license plate readers

• Speed of data processing /decision making

Toll Collection - Issues

Speed of processing:

• Account validation

• Payment computation and deduction

• Must occur fast enough to take enforcement action is account is missing or invalid– What enforcement action do I take?

Account Management

• When does money change hands?– Prepayment of bill?– Monthly bill?– Automated credit card bill ?

Account Management

• How do you interact with customers?

– Getting a tag or GPS device on their vehicle (correctly)

– Adding money to (or paying) their account– Contesting a bill / invoice

                                                                                 

                                                                   

                                                                                      

Toll Collection - Tags

• What information goes on the tag/device?– Vehicle ID?– Financial information (account balance)?– Number of passengers?– Vehicle classification? – Is the tag removable?– One way or two way communication?

Toll Collection – Plaza Design

• Toll collection plaza design is a function of tag design and tag usage– Number of lanes– Number of manual toll collection booths– Speed of vehicle passage– Enforcement area– Need for other sensors (axle, weight, video)

Toll Collection - GPS

• Same data needed as with tags, plus:– Where am I? Driver information– What does it cost to use this road?

• How do I perform enforcement?

Toll Collection - Issues

• Revenue Control– Toll evasion detection and enforcement– Audit

• All vehicles are charged

• Charge is the correct amount

• Tag control / billing complaints

– Interoperability between toll authorities– Does legal enforcement authority exist?

Toll Collection - Interoperability• Hardware compatibility

– Can I physically read your tag? (standards)

• Account transaction / back office processing– Can I bill your customer?– How?– What does it cost? (the customer / the authority)– Account validation / billing / revenue collection– Cost recovery

Tolls – What Fee to Charge?

• Variable versus fixed charges– Maximize revenue?– Maximize usage?– Maximize roadway performance?– Legal limitations

Variable Tolls

• By vehicle type– Truck versus car– Number of axles– Vehicle weight

• By vehicle occupancy

• By level of congestion / speed benefit

• By time of day

Toll Collection

• Impacts of Data Availability– Traveler information potential

• Travel times from tag reads• Historical versus real time

– Staffing planning

• Need for data on parallel / intersecting roadways?

Toll Collection - Privacy

• Privacy concerns

• Who gets access to the data?– Speed enforcement – Sale of customer information to who?

• Customer ID / address / financial records

• O / D information

• Time of day information

• Travel time information

– Access in a law suit? (Mad spouse)

Toll Collection

• Let’s Design a Facility

• First, is automated toll collection mandatory?– Effect on roadway/facility design– Effect on public acceptance– Other effects?

Design Process

• What is the design goal?– Automate the existing process?– Transfer information? – Make control decisions automatically? – How much human intervention do you want?– Are you willing to replace hardware?

Design Process

• Consider competing needs – Revenue collection versus– Operational improvements

– Willingness to pay

– Is the system useable for congestion pricing?

Design Process

• Who owns the system?– Private toll authority?– Public/private venture?– Public agency?

Design Process

• Technical Capabilities– Do we have the staff to

• Install

• Operate

• Maintain

• Refine