Cooperative infrastructure - the future for tolling?

Leading European tolling solution providers give a snapshot of how they think tolling's technological future will look

The 1816 European Union (EU) already benefits from the existence of an interoperable standard for tolling. 1701 CEN TC278 tag-based Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) technology operating at 5.8GHz predominates, not least because it is both proven and cost-effective. On strategic roads, we have seen the establishment of national schemes which use satellite (GPS)-based solutions, and there is a presumption at the 1690 European Commission level (see interview with Philippe Hamet on pp.42-43) that, Europe-wide, road charging and tolling will migrate to a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based solution once the EU's Galileo constellation is up and running.

Just another application? The debate ranges back and forth over the most suitable technological solution for the future. However, the coming phenomenon is cooperative infrastructure: instrumented roads and vehicles with the capacity to communicate with each other over all manner of safety and informational applications, many of which will involve financial transactions.

In an effort to increase international standardisation, the EU has in recent months allocated frequency spectrum at 5.9GHz for telematics applications. This brings the various European cooperative infrastructure projects more in step with the US's Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration programme. Recently re-launched as 'IntelliDrive', this is looking to use 5.9GHz-based systems to achieve national interoperability for safety and other applications including tolling.

So is the debate in Europe over DSRC versus GNSS/GPS missing the point somewhat? Should the debate focus more on whether to follow the US model - on when, not if, tolling should become but one application which is subsumed into the intelligent roads which should become a reality over the next decade or so? 1846 ITS International recently conducted a poll of major European tolling suppliers to gauge opinion of where tolling technology will head over the next couple of decades.

Size and complexity

Philippe Monier, Business Development Director Road Charging, 596 Thales Transportation Systems, focused on the size and complexity of the European tolling scene.

"There are about 400 tolling operators in Europe and introducing a new payment method will either involve a minority or take time. It took 10 years to define a DSRC standard and 10 years after its introduction only a small minority of vehicles are using it to pay tolls in Europe. VII looks nice but as of today it is still a concept even if products are available.

"DSRC will continue to be used for a long time. It is ideal for bridge or tunnel applications and city congestion or motorway charging, all of which are limited in size. Its use for other types of charging would imply negotiation between existing toll operators and other business operators which I don't see happening at the moment.

"Moreover European toll operators are subject to very specific legal constraints which make the use of the same toll payment for non-road applications very difficult. Legislation restricts the amount of rebate one can give to frequent users, for example.

"Road operators have a very precise business model and most operate on the concession model. They will invest only if forced or if they can increase revenue. What's missing is the killer application which will justify the introduction of new technologies. That doesn't look like emerging any time soon. I do see the introduction of new security and information systems which mainly concern the public bodies and road administrations. There are for sure new opportunities. The issue is not one of migration but of convincing people of the benefits of the offering.

"GNSS in conjunction with DSRC brings a solution to specific needs such as complex tolling environments. This is the case on trucks when it comes to tolling them on large road networks. Implementation on all types of vehicles is foreseen in some countries but the necessity for such a precise tolling scheme needs to be justified.

"Both technologies will continue to be used. I foresee also the introduction of new payment tools such as mobile telephony. But in my mind the biggest evolution which is yet to come is the introduction of common payment tools in both road and public transport. This is the only way to allow people to freely choose between modes. Increasing the use of public transport is a challenge and we need to offer flexibility without reducing mobility."

Vehicle compatibility

Tolling based on cooperative infrastructure could happen provided that compatible GNSS solutions exist in all vehicles, says Steinar Furan, 108 Q-Free's Vice President of Business Development and Compliance. But, he adds, one cannot forget that a GNSS solution still needs a suitable enforcement system, in practical terms a video-based system: "It's not unreasonable to expect CEN TC278-type technology to continue to be used for a discrete application such as tolling because the need to have a control system means that there must in any case be some physical infrastructure. As the most significant cost relates to the construction of infrastructure and comparatively little relates to equipment for communicating with OBUs, the use of CEN TC278-type technology still makes sense. It also allows the issuer to retain full control over the means of payment.

"The leading solution providers today are exactly that: solution providers rather than product vendors. The skills needed to build successful tolling solutions will be needed regardless of what types of sensors are used. For instance, Q-Free has taken into its portfolio GNSS and Automatic Number Plate Recognition [ANPR] expertise in addition to its existing expertise in DSRC. It is offering different technologies, and different combinations of technologies, depending on projects' requirements. In some situations, like truck tolling, GNSS is a useful technology, in other situations, like congestion charging, ANPR could turn out to be preferable.

"The technology will migrate as long as this is driven by real business requirements. It is important to keep the focus on the business requirements, as a 'technical approach' easily defocuses the real objectives.

"GNSS technology has its unique advantages and these will lead to its successful implementation in some cases - truck tolling, for instance, where the number of segments to control is very high and the number of vehicles is comparatively low. A congestion charging system on the other hand typically has the opposite characteristics. Then, ANPR, possibly combined with DSRC, is a good choice. For both GNSS and ANPR, DSRC is a perfect match when it comes to information exchange and interoperability.

"DSRC, ANPR and GNSS will continue to exist in the foreseeable future. We will see the implementation of some new schemes, such as electronic registration information and eSafety applications, but the key issue here is that these applications will co-exist with road tolling solutions rather than absorb it."

Collateral issues

The absence of need drives the thoughts of Iñigo Larraondo, Toll Solutions Manager with 134 Telvent: "While automotive and IT technologies are evolving to provide more and better information to the driver, the European authorities are pursuing the pay-as-you-drive concept. But only those smart solutions which help with tracking and the user payment; safety and informational services are merely collateral applications made possible by the existing technology. They're not a requirement.

"Cooperative infrastructure will only become universal when the technology becomes a commodity - when users can afford to pay for it as they do for a tag, or when it is integrated into existing in-vehicle devices. The R&D costs of the new systems and the high rate of device turnover are an obstacle for some potential suppliers on the automotive side.

"GPS/GNSS-based tolling technology has a guaranteed future in Europe. It is already in use in Germany and is in the loop in the Netherlands. It will co-exist in Europe with 5.8GHz-based DSRC. However, any new technology choice and the rate of migration will be driven by political decisions at the national level. At present, different technologies are used from country to country because of different enforcement regimes and political infrastructures. Once the political issues relating to transport are the same for all EU countries we'll start talking about a single solution but that's not going to come about soon. I think we'll have different technological solutions in each country for at least the next 20 years."

VII - the unifier

81 Kapsch's Erwin Toplak sees much that is good in the VII/IntelliDrive approach. However, he says, in many ways it serves to highlight the differences between tolling in the US and Europe. Principally, Europe already has a tolling standard, whereas the US is looking for a way to unify a whole series of often bespoke solutions.

"VII is unique as it focuses on safety. But who pays for it? That's where tolling comes in. It's a very interesting approach and there's much in it that's good.

"The 5.8 and 5.9GHz technologies look similar at first sight but they're very different. 5.8, as a short-range solution for tolling, makes sense. For the US, which knows it needs to move from 915MHz-based tolling technology and standardise, 5.9 is a reasonable next step.

"I've been in the business too long to accept that political support for any technology means anything. How the hell, for example, do we get the politicians behind Galileo to accept that tolling concessions are not going to back the use of Galileo over GPS when the use of the latter is free? And for any GNSS-based system, application on vehicles weighing less than 12 tonnes is a waste of money because operating costs outstrip revenues.

"For me, 5.8/5.9GHz remains the ideal for high-performance tolling - and it will be the solution for city tolling, which will come. But do we use 5.8 or the CALM protocol for telematics applications? Both are reasonable routes to go down. Mobility requirements require a raft of technologies, one of which is GPS/GNSS. It's reasonable to look to combine applications in one device and the only way to equip a workable percentage of the vehicle fleet within a reasonable time is through retrofits.

"If the US proceeds with VII, and I think it will, it sets a mark. But Europe isn't at a disadvantage - it has CALM. CALM is still some way away but we'll see growing penetration of standard fitment in cars. I don't think we need to get hung up on whether applications come via 5.8 or 5.9GHZ. The important thing is data rates.

"In time, I think we'll see infrared-based tolling disappear. GPS will remain for some applications and 5.8GHz DSRC will remain in the picture for a long time. But communications between tolling and navigation devices which include GPS will become more common. And I think we can expect to see additional telematic applications emerge through hybrid solutions based on tolling."