GNSS road pricing

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GNSS road pricing or GNSS-based tolling is the charging of road users using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sensors inside vehicles. Road pricing using GNSS simplifies distance-based tolling for all types of roads in a tolled road network since it does not require the installation and operation of roadside infrastructure, such as tollbooths or microwave-based toll gantries. Instead, all vehicles required to pay the distance-based fees are equipped with an On Board Unit (OBU).

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GNSS-based electronic tolling is used to charge trucks above 3.5 tons for road usage on the entire national road network in European countries such as Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Belgium, Russia, the Czech Republic, and in Bulgaria. Like the Czech Republic, Poland plans to replace its microwave-based tolling system with a GNSS-based solution in 2021. [1] Satellite-based technology can generate greater toll revenue and eliminate the problem of congestion caused by traffic diversion when vehicles subject to tolls are no longer motivated to drive on alternative routes in order to avoid the distance-based fees, since all roads can be easily tolled without the need for installing otherwise costly roadside infrastructure.

Once installed, the GNSS-based road pricing system can also be used for other applications such as in parking and insurance. After the introduction of the first GNSS-based tolling systems in Europe, some critics argued that this approach could lead to an invasion of people’s privacy. [2] However, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) applies since 25 May 2018.

History

Even though GNSS and electronic toll collection have been used for decades, the idea of using satellites for road tolling is relatively recent. The first successful demonstration of GNSS Road Pricing systems was given in 1994 during the ETC field trials on the A555 motorway between Bonn and Cologne (Germany) using the American NavStar GPS System, which was commissioned that year (there were no other GNSS systems that had been commissioned in 1994). In 1998, the European Union published a report which proposed the use of GNSS to charge vehicles by distance. [3] Germany introduced the first the GNSS road pricing system for truck tolling in 2005 (LKW-Maut). In 2007, the Netherlands legislated the implementation of GNSS road pricing by 2011, and nationwide by 2016. However, the project was declared controversial and subsequently put on indefinite hold due to the Dutch government collapse on February 20, 2010. [4] Official rejection of the proposed national road pricing in the Netherlands has been sealed after the largest party in Dutch government, i.e., the CDA, in March 2010. [5] The European Union issued the EFC-directive, [6] in order to standardize European toll collection systems. Systems deployed after January 1, 2007 must support at least one of the following technologies: satellite positioning, mobile communications using the GSM-GPRS standard or 5.8 GHz microwave technology. The Directive also suggested that the "application of the new satellite positioning (GNSS) and mobile communications (GSM/GPRS) technologies to electronic toll systems may serve to meet the requirements of the new road-charging policies planned at Community and Member State level." Furthermore, the European Commission issued the Regulation on the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) which must be implemented by all Member States from 19 October 2021. [7] Since six of the Member States have deployed GNSS-based tolling as of 2021, virtually all EETS-enabled OBUs include GNSS technology. [8]

How it works

Although the architecture of individual systems may vary, all GNSS road pricing systems share key common elements in how they work. In a typical road pricing system, in-vehicle sensors (OBUs) record time and position data. The vehicle data is processed into trip data, which is then matched to a set pricing scheme to produce a bill. Most GNSS-based toll systems process trip data at a back office (using a "thin client" approach), while some systems have been designed so that all the map matching and fee calculations take place within the OBU itself ("thick client" or "fat client), and some systems combine both approaches. [9]

Applications

Congestion pricing

Some cities that have already implemented congestion pricing are looking at ways to expand and improve their systems. Using GNSS road pricing, vehicles can be charged for the distance they travel within a cordoned area as opposed to paying a flat entry fee. In Singapore, the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system will be switching to a GNSS-based system after the installation of the Onboard Units (OBUs) is completed in 2025. [10] Singapore's Land Transport Authority announced that the distance-based charging policy will not be implemented soon, with no concrete date on when the new policy will take place. [11]

Time distance place (TDP) road pricing

GNSS road pricing enables road pricing policies based on time, distance and place (TDP). TDP road pricing is very much based on the road pricing principles outlined by William Vickrey. [12] In such a system, vehicles are charged based on when, where, and how much they drive. [13] Some transportation experts see TDP road pricing as a fairer, more effective means of charging road users and managing travel demand. [14]

GNSS road pricing providers

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toll road</span> Roadway for which a fee (or toll) is assessed for passage

A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and maintenance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road pricing</span> Revenue generation for road infrastructure

Road pricing are direct charges levied for the use of roads, including road tolls, distance or time-based fees, congestion charges and charges designed to discourage the use of certain classes of vehicle, fuel sources or more polluting vehicles. These charges may be used primarily for revenue generation, usually for road infrastructure financing, or as a transportation demand management tool to reduce peak hour travel and the associated traffic congestion or other social and environmental negative externalities associated with road travel such as air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, visual intrusion, noise pollution and road traffic collisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congestion pricing</span> System of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion

Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, telephones, and road pricing to reduce traffic congestion; airlines and shipping companies may be charged higher fees for slots at airports and through canals at busy times. Advocates claim this pricing strategy regulates demand, making it possible to manage congestion without increasing supply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Area Licensing Scheme</span> Traffic congestion pricing scheme in Singapore

The Singapore Area Licensing Scheme (ALS), was a road pricing scheme introduced from 1975 to 1998 that charged drivers who were entering downtown Singapore, and thereby aimed to manage traffic demand. This was the first urban traffic congestion pricing scheme to be successfully implemented in the world. This scheme affected all roads entering a 6-square-kilometre area in the Central Business District (CBD) called the "Restricted Zone" (RZ), later increased to 7.25 square kilometres to include areas that later became commercial in nature. The scheme was later replaced in 1998 by the Electronic Road Pricing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic toll collection</span> Wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles

Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing toll booths, where vehicles must stop and the driver manually pays the toll with cash or a card. In most systems, vehicles using the system are equipped with an automated radio transponder device. When the vehicle passes a roadside toll reader device, a radio signal from the reader triggers the transponder, which transmits back an identifying number which registers the vehicle's use of the road, and an electronic payment system charges the user the toll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toll Collect</span>

Toll Collect GmbH is a German company that has developed and is running the tolling system for trucks (LKW-Maut) on German motorways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic Road Pricing</span> Singaporean toll collection scheme

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Dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) is a technology for direct wireless exchange of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and other intelligent transportation systems (ITS) data between vehicles, other road users, and roadside infrastructure. DSRC, which can be used for both one- and two-way data exchanges, uses channels in the licensed 5.9 GHz band. DSRC is based on IEEE 802.11p.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open road tolling</span> Boothless toll collecting

Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow down to pay the toll. In some installations, ORT may also reduce congestion at the plazas by allowing more vehicles per hour/per lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation demand management</span> Policies to reduce transportation demands

Transportation demand management or travel demand management (TDM) is the application of strategies and policies to increase the efficiency of transportation systems, that reduce travel demand, or to redistribute this demand in space or in time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toll roads in Europe</span> Overview of toll roads in Europe

A toll road is a road over which users may travel over on payment of a toll, or fee. Tolls are a form of use tax that pays for the cost of road construction and maintenance, without raising taxes on non-users. Investor's bonds necessary for the construction of the roads are issued and sold with the expectation that the bonds will be paid back with user tolls. The toll roads may be run by government agencies that have bond issuing authority and/or private companies that sell bonds or have other sources of finance. Toll roads are usually a government guaranteed road monopoly that guarantees limited or no competing roads will be built by government agencies for the duration of the bonds. Private toll roads built with money raised from private investors in expectation of making money from the tolls probably dominated early toll roads. Government sponsored toll roads often guarantee a minimum payment to the bond holders if traffic volume and toll collections are less than predicted. If the toll authority is a private company there is often a maximum amount of fees that they may extract from users. Toll road operators are typically responsible for maintaining the roads. After the bonds are paid off the road typically reverts to the government agency that authorized the road and owns the land it was built on. Like most government taxes it is not unusual for tolls to continue to be charged after the bonds have been paid off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LKW-Maut</span>

The HGV toll is the tolling scheme for heavy goods vehicles traversing Autobahn road usage with trucks. Charges are based on the distance driven in kilometres, the emission category of the vehicle and the number of axles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco congestion pricing</span> Proposed fee for congested areas

San Francisco congestion pricing is a proposed traffic congestion user fee for vehicles traveling into the most congested areas of the city of San Francisco at certain periods of peak demand. The charge would be combined with other traffic reduction projects. The proposed congestion pricing charge is part of a mobility and pricing study being carried out by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) to reduce congestion at and near central locations and to reduce its associated environmental impacts, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The funds raised through the charge will be used for public transit improvement projects, and for pedestrian and bike infrastructure and enhancements.

A vehicle miles traveled tax, also frequently referred to as a VMT tax, VMT fee, mileage-based fee, or road user charge, is a policy of charging motorists based on how many miles they have traveled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-occupancy toll lane</span> Traffic lane or roadway on which high-occupancy vehicles are exempt from tolls

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The multi-lane free flow(MLFF) is a system that allows free-flow high-speed tolling for all highway users. With MLFF, current toll lanes at toll plazas can be replaced with ordinary multilane road segments. By using tags with readers at gantry across the highway to detect vehicles and deduct tolls using the existing Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) when fully implemented. Using only video and automatic license plate recognition it is also possible to have a MLFF system without using tags and readers. This type of solution is implemented in Stockholm for congestion charging purposes.

Platon is an electronic toll collection system established in Russia in November 2015. The toll is collected from trucks over 12 tonnes, with the proceedings going to a federal fund for road maintenance. A subsidiary of the state-owned Rostec corporation holds a 50% stake in the collection system operator, with the Putin-associated Rotenberg oligarchs owning the other half.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EasyGo</span> European electronic toll tag for vehicles

EasyGo is a joint venture between Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Austria, that enables use of a single electronic toll tag on toll roads, ferries and bridges in all the member countries. The purpose of EasyGo is to enable the use of one OBE for payment when driving through any toll facility one might encounter on the way through Northern Europe and Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toll (fee)</span> Fee charged for use of a road

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References

  1. Schindler, Norbert (2019). "Tolling: Let them eat Torta, Eastern Europe Round-Up". Thinking Highways, (H3B Media), Vol. 14, article 18.
  2. "A presentation explaining the benefits and privacy issues of GNSS road pricing". Archived from the original on 2006-07-20. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  3. Fair Payment for Infrastructure Use: A phased approach to a common transport infrastructure charging framework in the EU, Commission of the European Communities, July 22, 1998.
  4. Archived 2010-12-03 at the Wayback Machine Controversy over Dutch kilometre charge poll
  5. "Netherlands road pricing set back, 19 March 2010". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
  6. European Parliament; European Council (April 29, 2004). "Directive 2004/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the interoperability of electronic road toll systems in the Community". EUR-Lex. European Union. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  7. European Parliament; European Council (November 28, 2019). "Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/204 of 28 November 2019 on detailed obligations of European Electronic Toll Service providers, minimum content of the European Electronic Toll Service domain statement, electronic interfaces, requirements for interoperability constituents and repealing Decision 2009/750/EC". EUR-Lex. European Union.
  8. Schindler, Norbert (2019). "Tolling: Über EETS". Thinking Highways, (H3B Media), Vol. 14, article 13.
  9. Erker, E. and Schindler, N. (2009). "Satellite Tolling: A Third Weigh" (PDF). ETC, etc (H3B Media) Vol 4, No. 4, 16-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "What you need to know about the next-generation ERP system and new on-board unit". The Straits Times. October 26, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  11. "Explainer: Why distance-based road pricing is unlikely anytime soon". TODAY. October 25, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  12. Vickrey, William (1992). "Principles of Efficient Congestion Pricing". Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
  13. Technology Strategy Board Request for TDP proposals
  14. Archived 2009-10-04 at the Wayback Machine Next Generation Travel Demand Management: Time-Distance-Place Motor Vehicle Use Charges