The ETC system for HGV on highways in Germany First lessons after system opening

Transcription

1 The ETC system for HGV on highways in Germany First lessons after system opening Guy Frémont COFIROUTE Gérard Charpentier COFIROUTE 1 SUMMARY Germany has decided to introduce a new road user charging system for heavy goods vehicles (HGV) over 12 tonnes on its 12,000 km of highway. The present system (Eurovignette) is replaced at the end of August 2003 by an automatic system, which takes into account the number of kilometres travelled and the category of vehicle. The new system is designed, developed and will be operated during 12 years by the TOLL COLLECT consortium, which comprises DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Telekom and Cofiroute S.A. This tolling system designed for Germany is adapted to a country where there was no existing toll infrastructure and where it would be very difficult to build traditional toll plazas, because of tight environmental constraints. It gives the possibility to hauliers that frequently use the highway network to choose the automatic payment system, which gives them convenience and ease of use. For this, they have to equip their vehicles with an On Board Unit (OBU), which includes a GPS receiver, a digital map of the highway network and a GSM telephone. The occasional users may, on the contrary, prefer the payment through the manual reservation system, on terminals which are installed in service areas, or by Internet. Enforcement systems are implemented in order to avoid risks of violation. The automatic system forms a powerful and evolutionary technical platform, which will allow in the future the provision to hauliers of new additional information and mobility services. The TOLL COLLECT system must be commissioned on August31, This paper gives the main characteristics of the new tolling system, and will be updated at the conference with the first experience gained a few weeks after system opening. 2 PRINCIPLES OF THE HGV TOLL COLLECTION SYSTEM 2.1 THE CONTEXT The German Federal Republic has decided to abandon, in 2003, the present toll collection system (Eurovignette) for the use of highways by heavy goods vehicles and Association for European Transport 2003

2 replace it with a new toll collection system based on the number of kilometres covered. It has modified its legislation accordingly (Law of the ). Following an international invitation to tender, the Government awarded the contract to the TOLL COLLECT consortium, which comprises the Deutsche Telekom, DaimlerChrysler Services and Cofiroute S.A. companies. The contract, which stipulates that the system must be commissioned by August 31, 2003, was officially signed by the Minister of Transport on the 20th September The system designed by the TOLL COLLECT consortium does not require any additional infrastructures on the highway network apart from those required for on-the-spot controls. The number of heavy goods vehicles of over 12 tonnes concerned is 1.4 million, of which are foreign vehicles. The average toll rate has been recently fixed by the German parliament to 0,124 /Km; the expected revenues are about 2,8 billion per year, much more than the revenues of the Eurovignette (425 million in 2002). Fig. 1: Map of the German highway network It comprises 2 toll collection sub-systems: > A manual reservation system: the person liable to pay the toll reserves and pays for his/her journey by means of automatic payment units, distributed throughout Germany and in frontier zones. In other words, the toll is prepaid. > An automatic toll collection system. The vehicles have to be equipped with an OBU (On Board Unit) which itself identifies the route taken by the vehicle on toll highway sections through the use of the GPS and on board cartographic data. Association for European Transport 2003

3 This OBU constitutes a platform that is capable of hosting other applications apart from the toll collection application, which could in particular contribute to new telematics services (not presently authorised in the contract). The toll collection system is based on the following main principles: > The network subject to tolls comprises km of highway (i.e. more than 5000 km of highway sections) > The vehicles that are liable to pay a toll are heavy goods vehicles and towed vehicles whose total permissible load exceeds 12 tonnes. Exempt vehicles: police, army, emergency services, and. circuses. > The amount of the toll is based on: o the type of vehicle, characterised by the number of axles and total weight of the vehicle and its pollution rating o the distance and type of route taken on the highway network NB: Modulation of the tariffs is not planned at present. Technically, however, the system is capable of adjusting the toll as a function of the time of use. > The person liable to pay the toll is the driver or the owner of the vehicle. Whether he/she uses the automatic procedure (he/she has to ensure the OBU is working properly) or opts for the manual reservation procedure, he/she is responsible for correctly paying the toll due. > Mission of the Operating Company: to collect the toll in the name of the State. In order to do this, it acquires, finances, constructs and operates the toll collection system (toll collection on behalf of the State, participation in enforcement tasks). The State monitors the application of the contract by the Operating Company, carries out a certain number of enforcement tasks itself and deals with the collection of fines. 2.2 FUNCTIONALITIES OF THE TOLL COLLECTION SYSTEM In order to comply with the principle of non-discrimination between users of toll highway networks (European Directive 1999/62/EG), the toll may be paid by means of two complementary systems: a manual reservation system open to all vehicles liable to pay a toll and an automatic system that is only available to vehicles liable to pay a toll that are equipped with an OBU that is specific to the system. The toll collection system is made up of 4 sub-systems: > A manual reservation system > An automatic collection system > An enforcement system: the control missions (enforcement) are carried out both by TOLL COLLECT and by the Control Authority > A surveillance system, which allows the Control Authority and TOLL COLLECT to monitor the performance of the toll collection system. 3 MANUAL RESERVATION TOLL COLLECTION This type of manual reservation is reserved for vehicles that are not equipped with an On Board Unit or which do not wish to or cannot use the OBU. Association for European Transport 2003

4 It consists in prepaying the toll via automatic payment units installed in sales outlets (service stations, etc.), which constitute the only infrastructure necessary in the field, via the Internet or instead through a Call Centre. A receipt is sent to confirm the reservation; this receipt is used during controls. The payment stations have to operate every day, for 24h a day. They allow the person who is liable to pay the toll to pay it before starting the journey either in cash (Euros), by any of the payment methods in force at the payment station, by credit card or oil company card. The manual reservation system comprises 3500 automatic payment kiosks distributed throughout Germany and in frontier zones. An Internet site has also been set up to allow remote reservations for journeys. The user gives his license plate identification, the number of axles of his vehicle and pays for the travel he wants to make. The percentage of payment via the manual reservation system will be higher during the first year after system opening, but is expected to drop rapidly within several years thanks to the growth of number of vehicles equipped with an OBU. Fig. 2: Prototype of a kiosk for manual reservation 4 AUTOMATIC TOLL COLLECTION 4.1 PRINCIPLE In order to be able to use the automatic toll collection system, the vehicle must be equipped with an OBU, which itself identifies the route taken by the vehicle thanks to the use of the GPS, internal sensors and on board cartographic data. Certain areas, where GPS reception is insufficient, have been equipped with positioning beacons, which represent the only infrastructure necessary in the field. Before using a toll section of highway, the driver has to enter the category of his/her vehicle into the OBU. As soon as the autonomous OBU detects that the vehicle is on a toll section of highway, it generates transaction data that it memorises and transmits in packets, the size of which is determined as a function of the credibility of the holder (via GSM/GPRS), to the central information system, which then deals with the billing. A Association for European Transport 2003

5 central billing service of TOLL COLLECT groups together the billing data recorded by the OBU on invoices that are sent to the customer on a regular basis, and payment is made directly to the State treasury. The OBU s are supplied and installed in workshops belonging to a distribution network set up by the Operating Company ; there will be about 1800 workshops for this purpose. The OBU is free of charge for the hauliers, but will be given after payment of a deposit of 300, which gives a credit for future tolls. The installation in the vehicle is paid by the vehicle owner, and can take up to 4 hours. Fig. 3: Model of an On Board Unit 4.2 POSITIONING BEACONS A few hundred positioning beacons are planned to supplement the GPS in areas of poor reception or at road junctions where GPS positioning cannot differentiate between the various highways. After 2008 GALILEO will provide a higher liability and better accuracy of the satellite positioning; in particular, the availability of the positioning signal should be strongly improved in urban areas. The OBU which will be manufactured after this date will be interoperable with GALILEO. Fig. 4: Diagram of the automatic payment system 5 CONTROLS ( ENFORCEMENT) The enforcement missions are: > To detect violations > To obtain the addresses of violators from the Police Association for European Transport 2003

6 > To send out notices of payment and reminders > If the violators do not pay, the notices of payment are sent to the authorities. Several types of control may be distinguished: automatic controls, stationary controls, mobile controls or controls of haulier companies. Automatic controls This type of control is carried out by TOLL COLLECT, by means of automatic control stations installed on sections of highway. They are equipped with IR sensors (detection and classification), DSRC communications modules, and number plate recording cameras. Fig. 5: Gantry for automatic control The steps involved in automatic control are: > The detection of the vehicle > Its classification (without stopping it) according to its physical profile > Verifying that the toll has been paid correctly, both for: o The automatic toll collection system, by an exchange via radio-frequency signal (DSRC) or infrared with the OBU, which allows the details of the transaction carried out and the status of its transmission to the central system to be checked o The manual toll collection system, by interrogating the system s reservation base according to the vehicle s number plate (number plate automatically recognised after the photo has been taken). A range of information, in particular the photograph of the vehicle and its number plate, data pertaining to its classification and, if appropriate, other data from the OBU is provided for any vehicles that are identified as potential violators. This data is transmitted to the central information system, where it is then validated (if necessary, by manually reading the number plates) and confirmed in order to initiate, if necessary, the debt recovery procedure. Before issuing a recovery advice for the Control Authority, TOLL COLLECT must ensure that a recovery advice pertaining to the same act is not already being processed by the officers of the Control Authority. In fact, the officers of the Control Authority are responsible for carrying out mobile controls and can thus control vehicles that have already been controlled by the automatic control stations. Stationary controls Association for European Transport 2003

7 Stationary controls are carried out by control officers in parking areas located several hundred meters after certain automatic stations. Once the automatic control station has identified fraudulent vehicles, it informs the control officers. These officers then stop the vehicles that have been pre-identified in this way, and control the display device to check whether the toll has been correctly paid and, if necessary, issue a ticket. The control officers can also carry out controls on stationary vehicles in parking areas, by means of a terminal that is capable of communicating with the OBU of the vehicle being controlled. Mobile controls This functionality leads to the same results as the stationary control but is carried out, in this case, by officers of the Control Authority circulating in vehicles that are mixed up with the traffic. Fig. 6: Vehicle for mobile control These vehicles are fitted with equipment, supplied and maintained by TOLL COLLECT, which makes it possible to communicate with the OBU on the vehicle that is being controlled and the reservation base of the manual toll collection system. Controls at haulier companies The Control Authority may itself carry out controls at haulier companies. The control system comprises: > 300 automatic control stations, of which 150 are provided with additional equipment to allow stationary controls > 300 mobile control vehicles (70 of which are intended for stationary controls) > 150 work stations with specific control installations for carrying out the missions that come under the responsibility of the services of the Control Authority. > Equipment for 50 officers of the Control Authority to carry out controls at haulier companies. 6 CONCLUSIONS This paragraph in the form of conclusions outlines several thoughts regarding the possible transposition or extension of the TOLL COLLECT system to other European countries, whatever their present situation regarding highways, with or without tolls. The automatic toll collection system that has been designed for Germany is suitable for countries where there is no existing toll collection infrastructure or where it is very Association for European Transport 2003

8 difficult to construct traditional toll collection stations, given multiple environmental constraints. It offers regular hauliers the freedom to choose to pay via the automatic system (by installing an OBU in their vehicles), which offers considerable flexibility and simplicity. Infrequent users can, on the other hand, choose to pay via the manual reservation system. The automatic system comprises an open, high performance technical platform that would allow new mobility assistance services to be proposed in the future (when the legislation currently in force has been amended). In particular, this platform would allow advanced functions for managing heavy goods vehicle fleets, managing and optimising journeys, localisation, remote maintenance, etc. Additional information can be obtained on the TOLL COLLECT Web site, at the following address : or from the Call Centre : ( TOLL COLLECT). The use of the same OBU to pay tolls in countries where a DSRC 5.8 GHz automatic toll system is in force would be made possible by the implementation of a DSRC interface in the OBU that complies with the CEN TC278 Standards and CESARE 2 / CARD-ME Specifications. Work has already begun in this area with countries neighbouring Germany such as Austria and France. The question of opening up the LIBER-T system in France to heavy goods vehicles has not yet been decided by the highway companies. There would be no technical difficulties; LIBER-T automatic toll collection channels could accept both heavy goods vehicles equipped with monolithic DSRC badges and German OBUs fitted with a DSRC interface. The same OBU could also be used both on the toll highway network and on the toll-free highway network (non-conceded) if the French authorities decided to charge heavy goods vehicles as a function of the distance covered. Another advantage of this system is that it enables: > Tariff adjustments to be applied as a function of the time and traffic conditions, > The amount of the toll charged to be parameterised as a function of the highway in question, which would allow policies designed to reduce traffic build up through improved use of the network s capacities to be implemented. There is therefore no contradiction or opposition between a GPS based toll collection system and an automatic DSRC based toll collection systems such as LIBER-T. Changes to French Law will have to be made to sanction the processing of vehicle number plates and in such a way as to be able to invoke the responsibility of the driver and / or the owner of the vehicle if payment has not been made. From a legal point of view, the collection of a road user tax for non-conceded highways could take several forms, such as a concession or a service contract. Association for European Transport 2003

9 The ETC system for HGV on motorways in Germany Guy Frémont COFIROUTE European Transport Conference Strasbourg 8-10 October 2003

10 Introduction of HGV Toll in Germany Motorway toll legislation Tolls required on motorways only, may be extended to other federal highways Trucks weighing over 12 t gross permissible weight are required to pay road tolls Toll rate depends on number of axles, emissions class (9.0 to 14 cents/km) Tariff calculation respecting EU-Directive 1999/62 Charging based on exact distance travelled Major Legal and Technical Requirements Non-discriminatory access (automatic and manual system) according to EU legislation) No toll stations, no compulsory toll lanes, ensure free traffic flow, no speed limits to result from toll system Support environmental goals Allow extension of system (other roads, other vehicles, value added services) ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 2

11 Inherent Principles of Toll Introduction Shift from publicly tax-funded to usage-based financing of traffic infrastructure More rigorous application of the "user pays" principle to domestic and foreign road users (toll rate based on infrastructure costs) Existing Eurovignette (toll rate based on time) replaced by new tolling system (toll rate based on KM travelled) Relief for public budgets More fair competition between roads and railways Earmarking of the revenues to improve transport infrastructure, predominantly federal highway construction Additional income for the funding of transport infrastructure More efficient use of transport capacities Contribution to the protection of the environment ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 3

12 Scope of the HGV Toll in Germany Toll road network 12,000 km federal motorways 2,213 motorway intersections 251 junctions Vehicles required to pay the road toll million trucks 12t Includes approx. 400, ,000 trucks registered outside of Germany Toll road usage 22.7 billion vehicle kilometres per year Of which approx. 35% are accounted for by vehicles registered outside of Germany ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 4

13 Consortium & Contract Structure Contract awarded to Toll Collect bidding consortium on 20 st September 2002 System opening initially scheduled on August 31, 2003 (still in tests) Consortium consists of: DaimlerChrysler Services AG (45%) Deutsche Telekom AG (45%) Cofiroute S.A. (10%) Public Private Partnership Federal Government Client Toll Collect GmbH Operator Transport companies, drivers, vehicle owners Users ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 5

14 Basic System Structure ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 6

15 System Technology GPS AP AP GSM Virtual collection points GPS Global Positioning System GSM Global Standard for Mobile Communication AP Access point ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 7

16 Automatic System Technology System based on GPS (Global Positioning System) and GSM (mobile telephone) Detects automatically the tolled road section Calculation based on the exact number of kilometres travelled Booking via On-Board Unit in vehicle Interoperable system design DSRC module - infrared & microwave ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 8

17 Automatic System On Board Unit Installation Registration is required On-Board Unit, DSRC module and combination antenna can be installed by approx. 1,800 service partners in Germany and 300 abroad Installation takes max. 4 hours Equipment is free of charge (after prepayment of toll 300 ) Installation costs are borne by the user Two manufacturers ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 9

18 Automatic System Log-on Enter PIN, weight (<12t / >12t), number of axles, cost centre (optional) On-Board Unit autonomously recognises the toll route via GPS signal and internal sensors Autonomous determination and recording of toll charges Autonomous transfer of toll amount to control centre via GSM/GPRS) Toll rate information updated via GSM ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 10

19 Manual Booking System Central Computing System indoor ISDN a. outdoor POS Toll terminals over 3,500 toll terminals at truck stops, filling stations and borders input of vehicle and route data, time of use local currency at location,, credit cards and petrol cards cancellation before departure, partial cancellation of unused sections after departure (z o Online for registered customers booking in advance Call centre for customer support TOLL COLLECT ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 11

20 Payment Methods Toll System Automatic Log-on System Internet Log-on System User registered registered Zahlungsweise Payment Method Direct debit, credit account, fuel card Manual Log-on System registered Direct debit, credit Lastschriftverfahren account, cash, credit/fuel/ec Guthabenkonto cards Manual Log-on System not registered Lastschriftverfahren Cash, Guthabenkonto credit/fuel/ec cards ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 12

21 Enforcement Toll regulations are enforced by the BAG (Bundesamt für Güterverkehr) Stationary enforcement: 300 automatic control bridges Mobile enforcement: 278 BAG enforcement vehicles Automatic log-on is checked via communication with On-Board Units Manual log-on is checked by scanning vehicle number plates and communication with the Toll Collect computing centre Suspected toll violators are stopped by BAG officers ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 13

22 Enforcement Automatic check point ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 14

23 Enforcement Automatic check point (side view) classification level image level ca. 7,5 m ca. 15 m communication zone ca. 3 m gantry laser trigger for camera IR camera + flashlight DSRC beacon laser scanner ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 15

24 Value Added Services The new platform allows the provision of many value added telematics services : Examples Possible Public Services, e.g. : Traffic management, mayday services, traffic information Possible Enterprise Services, e.g. : Fleet monitoring, shipment tracking, order management, vehicle management A decision on value-added services will be taken at a later stage must take into account that fair competition has to be ensured must, if it is in favour of these services, provide for a separation between toll collection and value-added services ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 16

25 Standardization Standardization Consortium active in standardization groups (CEN TC278, ISO TC204) Standard to be established in 2004 (with support of European Commission) Open standards for OBU, system technology and communication protocols are supported ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 17

26 Interoperability (1) Interoperability (technical) On Board Unit able to work on GPS/GSM and DSRC 5,8 GHz (CESARE 2 or CARDME 4 or other protocols) Consortium active in ERTICO committees 6th Framework Programme Proposal for Pilot test bed being prepared At present bilateral interoperability solutions between Germany and Austria are under discussion ; other bilateral projects are being prepared (France). ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 18

27 Interoperability (2) Interoperability (legal & procedural) Federal Government and Toll Collect welcome proposal for a Directive on the interoperability of electronic toll systems as it will contribute to eliminating obstacles in international road transport Some clarifications are however required before approval can be granted Highway operators (ASECAP) contest part of the draft Directive, as it ignores the existing situation of highway toll operators makes confusions between tolls and taxes precludes the working DSRC technology imposes GPS (Galileo) technology without economic studies Legal issues on interoperability will be addressed by an ASECAP initiative (CESARE 3) with participation of several member state ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 19

28 Next steps System still in extensive testing! Start of operation again delayed by several weeks More information on ETC Strasbourg 8/10/03 Page 20