Charging, Tolling & Road Pricing

Siemens has received orders, valued at nearly US$63 million from Eurotoll and Total, two of the largest French electronic toll onboard units issuers, to supply technology for the new French toll collection system. The equipment comprises onboard units for the vehicles as well as the electronic detection system. The orders are part of the Ecotaxe project which will see the introduction of mileage-based taxation on French national roads for trucks weighing 3.5 tons and more.

Istvan Tarlos, the mayor of Budapest, the Hungarian capital, has told the press that income from the planned congestion charge will total some US$85.64 million per year. The amount will be spent on covering operating costs of the Hungarian capital's public transport company BKV. The congestion charge is expected to be introduced by mid-2013.

Telvent GIT has announced that it has successfully completed an open road tolling (ORT) system in coordination with the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority on the new 183A Expressway Northern Extension. The system, based on Telvent’s SmartMobility tolling solution, is designed to reduce travel times and maximise efficiency of the toll collection process.

South Africa-headquartered Nortech International, in conjunction with Beijing Navigator Technologies, has announced the conclusion of a successful trial of high accuracy vehicle classification for tolling on the Hebei Shi-huang Expressway in Hebei Province of China.

The Mayor of Budapest, Istvan Tarlos, has announced that he is planning to introduce congestion charges in the Hungarian capital. The extra funds raised through the measure would be spent on the improvement of public transport services and on providing financial support for the city's public transport firm BKV.

The new Richmond Airport connector link road is now open to traffic. The link provides a direct connection from the Pocahontas 895 highway to Richmond International Airport and cuts journey time on this route. This 2.5km road is an extension of the Pocahontas 895 highway and links directly to Airport Drive at Charles City Road. The new road can save drivers around 10 minutes or more on a trip to the airport, especially those coming from Chesterfield County and the Tri-Cities area. Customers using the Airpor

In a bid to narrow the state's budget gap, lawmakers in Connecticut are considering the reintroduction of toll roads. The state is facing a budget shortfall of US$3.5 billion – around 18 per cent of its total spending, and the proposal would see the introduction of electronic tolls around the state's entry points. According to a Cambridge Systematics study, annual toll revenue could reach $600 million with a fee of $5 to cross tolling points. It is thought that the move may be accompanied by a gas tax reduc