World Class Intelligent Transport Systems for Road User Charging and Traffic Management

Road User Charging

About Road User Charging

Road User Charging is collection of fees or tolls from road users. Transactions can either be done manually or automatically The systems can be based on a variety of technologies. Which solution is optimal, depends on the purpose of introducing the charging scheme, km of road to be covered, number of vehicles, legal aspects., etc. Q-Free implemented the first Electronic Tolling Solution for the Bangkok Expressway.

Global Volume of Road Transport is Expected to Grow 111 % from 2000-30*

The market demands different solutions to improve traffic congestion and pollution Lack of public funding of new roads Road user charging is a preferred method for road financing. Millions of electronic transactions reduces the CO2 emissions as stop and go traffic is avoided.

Passenger Transport in World Regions (2007) billion passenger-kilometre** 7500 7,165

5000

4,458

2500 874 0 755

* Source: Global Industry Analysts Inc. (2009): ETC Systems A Global Strategic Business Report

**Source: EU Energy & transport in Figures 2006, Part 3 Transport

The Road User Charging Technologies

DSRC - Dedicated Short Range Communication

Follows European standards Cars communicate with the charging point through an On Board Unit Microwave communication Widely used

ALPR Automatic License Plate Recognition

Software automatically reads the vehicles licence number Based on digital video images of the vehicles license plate Used in Congestion Charging Video based enforcement

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

Systems based on GPS Requires an On Board Unit that positions the vehicle

RFID Radio Frequency Identification

Only passive components, meaning that no internal energy source (battery) RFID On Board Unit is also called a sticker tag

Manual Toll Collection

Collect of charge from road user is done manually or semi manually (personnel in a toll booth or supported by some technologies, like coin machine and enforcement cameras Q-Free delivers all technologies, but will focus on the three first mentioned.

Examples of Road User Charging Applications

Common technology choice for the application A possible technology but not many similar projects This technology is not recommended for the application

Road User Charging

Technology

Application

Financing of Infrastructure (ETC)

Congestion Charging

Truck Tolling

DSRC (Dedicated ShortRange Communication) GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) Video with ALPR (Automatic License Plate Recognition)

RUC Projects Based on Different Technologies

Financing of Infrastructure (Electronic Toll Collection)

Congestion Charging

Truck Tolling

DSRC
Germany

Oslo

Czech Republic Austria Switzerland Slovakia Germany

GNSS
X Video (ALPR) Portugal Melbourne Norway X Stockholm Rome

Q-Free has more than 70 reference projects worldwide and can Deliver Systems within all Road User Charging Areas

Basic Elements of a Road User Charging System

Operational Back-Office
Commercial Back-Office

Roadside

Data Collection
Vehicle identified by

Transaction Handling
Toll calculation based on

Business Management
Accounts handling

GNSS, DSRC or ALPR

Zones, subscription, Time/Distance/Place etc.

CRM, External Interfaces, etc.

GNSS = Global Navigation Satellite System, DSRC = Dedicated Short-Range Communication, ALPR = Automatic License Plate Recognition

Roadside Data Collection

Three basic ETC technologies in any combination Technology choice based on number of vehicles and length of road segments

With On Board Unit (OBU)

1.

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

Payment is transferred when the vehicle passes a pre-defined spot in the road network, known as; Virtual Charging Point The OBU contains a GPS Module for positioning Drivers declare classification data that is stored in the On Board Unit, e.g. number of axels

2.

Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) vehicleto-roadside

Payment is transferred when the vehicle passes a physical charging points The OBU transmits ID, classification, etc using DSRC

Without On Board Unit (OBU)

3.

Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR)

Cameras mounted on physical gantries Vehicle identified by optical character recognition, matched against electronic vehicle registry and owner charged accordingly When user has not paid a photographic evidence is used for enforcement

Roadside - Enforcement

The enforcement system is the system to catch drivers that have not paid a correct fee. Optimum performance by combining DSRC OBUs and ALPR

The enforcement system on Roadside verifies the vehicle On Board Unit and classification information etc.

A missing OBU or classification mismatch results in a photographic evidence for the passage being sent to the Operational Back Office

Automatic License Plate Recognition Automatic and Manual Handling of Enforcement Cases

Operational Back Office Automatic Transaction Handling

ALPR Incoming pictures of passages from roadside are translated automatically by Automatic License Plate Recognition Software (ALPR)

Toll Calculation

Toll is calculated based on Time/Distance/Place/Zone/Class Charging data is attached to OBU ID or Licence plate number

Transaction Data

The calculated toll is sent as a transaction data packet to accounts handling in Commercial Back Office for invoicing Enforcement cases also sent to Commercial Back Office for handling

Monitoring and Reporting & Statistics are also a part of operational back office

Commercial Back Office Business Management

Commercial Back Office Functions Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Invoicing and Financials Administration Asset & Facility Management

External interfaces (Linked to functionality in Back Office) Banks National Vehicle Register Clearing, interoperability
User interfaces (Linked to functionality in Back Office) Point of sales Enforcement operators End-users

Q-Free Delivers Complete, Integrated Turnkey Solutions for a Rapidly Growing Road User Charging Market
Market at an early stage The market for RUC solutions is still at an early stage Double-digit annual growth percentage is expected in the years to come In some of the most developed RUC markets, the industry is transforming from innovation to growth Example of important market segments: Financing of infrastructure Truck Tolling Congestion management Efficiency of Existing Road User Charging Solutions

Summary
Q-Free delivers Turnkey solutions for Road User Charging Efficient operational models Extensive experience Advisory Local presence and staffing

Leading to Optimal solution for the customer Minimized operational costs Optimized performance