Electronic Tolls Drive for Compatibility
Long-haul truckers now must use different types of transponders to communicate with the jumble of collection operations throughout the United States. For example, New York’s system is not compatible with those in Florida and Ohio. To zip through tollbooths, trucking companies operating nationwide have to equip their fleets with a variety of transponders.
To iron out these and other problems, officials from New York, New Jersey and Florida have pledged to support the goal of a nationwide, “interoperable” system for toll collection. The commitment was made during a recent meeting of the Electronic Commerce Blue Ribbon Panel, sponsored by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America.
“Obviously, there’s a large infrastructure base for transponders already,” said Stephen Keppler, commercial vehicle program director at ITS America.
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nd it is a big business. The New York Thruway alone records 230,000 daily transactions — mostly commuters — with its electronic toll collection system, E-ZPass.
“These toll authorities want to offer additional applications to their customers and are looking at the feasibility of a uniform, national system that would benefit the trucking industry,” Keppler said. “We’re looking at creating a national brand for [commercial vehicle] toll collection, so that no matter what toll location, there would be the same look and feel from state to state.”
But competing interests could interfere in an effort to blend the nation’s toll networks.
Keppler said the East Coast toll authorities, which are among the founding members of the blue ribbon panel, are well-organized and pleased with their collection systems.
Also, experts note that many East Coast authorities use Mark IV transponders, while other parts of the country use units from other manufacturers, such as Amtech.
The tug of war means those who jump on the bandwagon — or even steer it — will be in the best position to protect their technology investments.
The discussion of a nationwide electronic collection network comes at a time when tolls are getting a closer look as a funding source for road projects at the state level.
Arkansas backed away from submitting an application to participate in a federal pilot program that would have allowed three states to test tolls to finance maintenance of their Interstate highways. Instead, the state opted for higher fuel taxes and a bond referendum to meet its needs.
Though three other states — Pennsylvania, South Carolina and California — had given the program some thought, the March 31 deadline passed without a single application being filed. However, the Federal Highway Administration has decided to the door open, and won’t impose any new deadlines.
For the full story, see the April 26 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.
