At present, whenever a layman thinks of toll plazas, he imagines long queues and congestion at toll plazas. Increasing traffic and the lack of a tolling system capable of handling heavy traffic load are the main drivers behind the creation of this image.
The growing traffic volume plying on the national highways causes additional congestion at toll plazas, which results in loss of time and fuel. Environment pollution and noise generation are additional by-products. Overall, the traffic on the highway is reduced, which produces additional strain on the existing infrastructure.
As a solution , an Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system is proposed that involves non-stop tax collection.The proposed system — that could be based on technologies such as infrared radio communication and radio frequency identification — uses an on-board unit called ‘tag' that is fixed on the vehicle and a road-side unit (a reader). The tag has a unique identification number (tag ID) to identify the vehicle. At each plaza, at least one lane in both directions is dedicated for non-stop toll collection. The reader is installed at this lane and the tag is installed inside the vehicle, on the wind-shield.
The tag is issued on registering the user and vehicle details with the system. When driving through the ETC lane, the reader installed by the lane detects the tag ID and deducts the applicable toll amount from the user's account. The commuter is not required to stop and the toll is collected while the vehicle is crossing the plaza. The system, in turn, reduces the congestion at each plaza. Currently, the majority of the toll collection systems in India functioning in the manual mode.
But the scenario is changing rapidly, with the introduction of electronic tolling. All new road projects being undertaken are equipped with electronic tolling. And the existing manual ones are being upgraded to electronic systems.
Benefits of e-Tolling
The advantages of electronic toll collection are immediately tangible and bring benefits to the road users, the toll operators and the government alike. Such toll collection increases the convenience for users by their not needing to stop at toll plazas for payment and thus saves time and reduces traffic congestion and pollution. It benefits the toll operators by reducing the manpower operating costs at toll plaza, ensuring robust audit control mechanisms and plugs revenue leakage, apart from protecting the staff from a very high exposure to toxic exhaust fumes.
ETC technologies
Historically, the adoption of ETC in India has been slow and has been restricted to the following technologies.
Infrared : Infrared is based on ISO-CALM standard and has been used in India from year 2000. An intelligent active infrared road-side unit is used for high data rate communication with the on-board unit installed on the vehicle. At present, it is used on the following stretches: Noida Toll Bridge, Delhi Faridabad Skyway, and the Ahmedabad Mehsana Expressway, to name a few.
Dedicated Short Range Communication : DSRC is bi-directional communication between the roadside unit and the on-board unit,
where the latter draws power from the former. At present, this technology is used on the following stretches: Bangalore Elevated Tollway, Bangalore Nelamangala, among others.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) : As the name suggests, the communication medium is through radio waves. Both passive and active RFID technology is extensively used in identification purpose.
(The author is Senior VP – Sales & Marketing, Efkon India Pvt Ltd.)