Toll Collect

Table of Contents

Table of  Contents  

  List of abbreviations  III

  List of figures  IV

  List of tables  V

1  Introduction  1

2  Road Tolls  2

2.1  Beginning of toll taking  2

2.2  Types and aims of road tolling  2

3  Truck Toll in Germany  3

3.1  Award procedure and introduction process  3

3.2  Judicial aspects for toll collection  3

3.3  Economic aspects of Toll Collect GmbH  4

3.4  General Survey about the Toll Collect System  4

3.4.1  Toll amount  6

3.4.2  Payment methods  8

3.4.3  Interoperability  8

4  Technical system implementation  10

4.1  Automatic log-on  10

4.1.1  On-Board Unit (OBU)  11

4.1.2  Global Positioning System (GPS)  14

4.1.3  Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM)  14

4.1.4  DSRC System  16

4.2  Manual log-on  21

4.2.1  Log-on at terminal  21

4.2.2  Log-on via internet  23

4.2.3  Cancellations  24

5  Ways of enforcement  25

6  Conclusion and thoughts for the future  28

  Toll Collect  I

Table of Contents

  Bibliography  29

Appendix 33   

  Toll Collect  II

List of abbreviations

List of abbreviations  

ABGM Autobahnmautgesetz für schwere Nutzfahrzeuge  

BAG Bundesamt für Güterverkehr  

BTS Base Transceiver Station  

DOD Department of Defense  

DSRC Dedicated Short Range Communication  

GSM Global System for Mobile Communications  

GPS Global Positioning System  

ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems  

MS Mobile Station  

OBU On-Board Unit  

OCR Optical Character Recognition  

PCN Personal Communication Networks  

RSU Road Side Unit  

SMS Short Message Service  

VANET Vehicular Adhoc NETworking  

v2r vehicle to roadside  

v2v vehicle to vehicle  

Toll Collect III  

List of figures

  List of figures  

  Figure 1: Toll collecting in Germany  6

  Figure 2: Automatic log-on procedure  11

  Figure 3: Siemens OBU  12

  Figure 4: Grundig OBU  12

  Figure 5: GSM frame structure  15

  Figure 6: ITS-structure  17

  Figure 7: DSRC frequencies  18

  Figure 8: hazard warning emergency vehicle warning intersection collision avoidance  20

  Figure 9: Close-up range communication  21

  Figure 10: Log-on at terminal  22

  Figure 11: Internet log-on  24

  Figure 12: Automatic control  26

  Figure 13: Functionality of control bridges  26

  Toll Collect  IV

List of figures

  List of tables  

Table 1:  Determining the emissions class  7

Table 2:  Emission categories  7

Table 3:  Toll rates per km  7

  Toll Collect  V

Introduction

1 Introduction

In times of the EU Enlargement Germany has been faced with steadily increasing freight and transit traffic, due to its geographical position in the middle of Europe. The German expressway system has an overall length of approximately 25.000 kilometers (both directions) and therewith is the longest system in Europe [cf. TCUI07, p. 2.]. Overall 1.2 million trucks use the German expressways and cover a total distance of 22.7 trillion kilometers every year [cf. DBL05].

The preservation and further expansion of this system is an important leverage of development for Germany and Europe as a whole. The costs for road construction and maintenance have been rising directly proportional to the transit traffic. Since this burden was only carried by Germany's public, namely by the German citizens' taxes, the Federal Government launched a distance-based toll for all heavy goods vehicles with a total weight of 12 tons or more, driving on German expressways.

This so-called "LKW Maut" came into effect on January 1 ^st , 2005 and is a watershed in financing. For the first time the costs for maintenance are allocated to those who predominantly cause the abrasion. Politics call this a better and fairer financing of the infrastructure. One heavy truck stresses the streets 60.000-times more than a car [cf. BMVBS07, par. 5]. In addition this toll system leads to a higher transport efficiency, which can be seen in the fact that empty return trips went back from over ten to nine percent in 2005, respectively [cf. Bund06, par. 3]. Thereby it also has a positive effect on sustainability. The fee, each truck has to pay, is defined in accordance to the number of axles, the relating emissions class and the distance travelled. Political background of the toll is to shift freight traffic from the roads to railroad and waterways.

Toll Collect GmbH has been responsible for developing a toll system in the name of the Federal Republic of Germany which united GPS technology for satellite-based positioning and GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications). Together with vehicle-installed On-Board Units the system is able to determine the exact position of the trucks and to calculate the toll amount automatically without any need for stops because of personal log-ons for the intended route.

Toll Collect 1

Road Tolls

2 Road Tolls

2.1 Beginning of toll taking

The expression toll describes the payment of a certain fee, especially in the context of using ^th century BC.

streets, bridges or tunnels. Early toll roads are first mentioned in India in the 4 The Romans even took toll in conquered areas through native tenants. Those people had to pay a fix amount of money to the Roman Empire every year. That was why this system was regularly misused and higher fees were claimed by the tenants. Tolls were used to help financing roads with the money of travelers. Toll bridges and toll gates were easier to control and thus very popular then. [Cf. Wikipedia07a: par. 3]

2.2 Types and aims of road tolling

The technology of toll collection systems has progressed quickly over the last decades, comparing the first manual toll systems in France introduced in the fifties of the last century with today's modern and electronic ones. [Cf. STM07, p.1] Today there are two types of road tolls in use that have to be differentiated. On the one hand there is access-dependant toll, as applied in Austria or Switzerland for instance. The user has to pay a specified toll for using certain roads or segments no matter how far the traveled distance is. As a mean of realization vignettes are sold, for it is easy to control. On the other hand there is usage-dependant toll. In this case the toll amount is dependent, either on spatial aspects (distance, number of segments, transfers) or on the temporary use of a tolled road. In both cases the toll amount is additionally related with various properties of the user's vehicle as for example the size, weight or number of axles. [Cf. Wikipedia07b: par. 2] The aims of "modern traffic management" by introducing road tolls are getting more diversified and long-dated in comparison to the beginnings.

In general tolling is used for financing the maintenance of existing infrastructure and for investment in new road projects. The efficient usage of roads (i.e. minimization of empty tours) can be controlled in a better way, since nobody wants to pay more than necessary. This raise in efficiency by charging money has also positive effects on traffic concentration and leads to less CO 2 -emissions. [Cf. Wikipedia07b: par. 2] Hence human health and the environment are better protected. Future oriented systems as presented by Toll Collect have to meet the need for a fluent and safe traffic and thus account for a sustainable economic growth along with sustainable mobility. [Cf. STM07, p.1]

Toll Collect 2

Truck Toll in Germany

3 Truck Toll in Germany

3.1 Award procedure and introduction process

The introduction of a distance-based truck toll in Germany has been announced in November 1995 for the first time. In October 1998 the Federal Government of Germany resolved to introduce an "anti traffic jam program", which should be financed by truck toll. [Cf. Wikipedia07c: par. 1]

Finally, in April 2002, the law of introduction of a distance-based truck toll for heavy vehicles came into effect. Three offerers competed in order to get the award for building a toll system in Germany. In the End it was the bidding consortium ETC (Electronic Toll Collect, later Toll Collect) that signed the contract with the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing due to a calculated expenditure which was several hundred million euros below the offers of the competitors. [Cf. ELKO07, par. 1; cf. also Wikipedia07c: par.1 et seqq.] As starting date the 31 ^st of August, 2003 was scheduled, but technical problems with the tracking system prevented the timely introduction [Cf. WDR07]. Hence it was rescheduled to ^nd of November, 2003. After a meeting in October 2003 between the minister of transthe 2 port at that time and Toll Collect the introduction was again postponed. In January 2004 Toll Collect presented their new project plans which contained a two-step introduction of the system for the end of 2004 and 2005. [Cf. N-TV07] Toll Collect managed to introduce a limited system in January 2005. The final system with full range of functionality has been operative since 1 ^st of January, 2006.

3.2 Judicial aspects for toll collection

A distance-based toll has been collected on German expressway roads for all trucks with an overall weight of twelve tons or more since 1 ^st of January, 2005. Legal basis is built by the following guidelines and acts.

The German truck toll is fully in accord with the relating aims of the European Commission. Basis for introduction was the guideline 1999/62/EG of the European Parliament, the socalled Euro-vignette-guideline. All comprised specifications about toll amount and the differentiation between emissions classes were considered with the introduction of the truck toll in Germany. [Cf. DBW07, p.1] ^th of April, 2002 the German Motorway Toll Act for Heavy Commercial Vehicles (ABGM) On 5 ^th of April, 2002. On this legal basis the Federal Minwas passed and became effective on 12 istry of Transport, Building and Housing issued the German Toll Rate Ordinance in June

Toll Collect 3