The free-flow tolling system means that users can be charged without them having to interrupt their journeys by stopping to make toll payments. Regular users of the toll motorway must have a TAG (electronic equipment capable of communicating with an exterior antenna) installed in their vehicle.

Casual users can give advance notice of their wish to use the road, giving the registration number of their vehicle.

When vehicles pass underneath the tolling gantries, each vehicle is identified by the equipment installed.

Overview

If the vehicle is equipped with a TAG, its ID code is read. If the vehicle has no TAG, an image of its number plate is captured and read by an OCR system to check whether the vehicle is authorised to use the road on the day.

TAG users ate billed for all journeys made during two billing periods, as are authorised users with no TAG. Every time a vehicle with no authorised TAG uses the road, a claim process begins, applying the relevant legislation, in order to make the applicable charge for the use of the toll motorway

Technical characteristics

To accomplish its mission, the free-flow system applies dual technologies:

• Dynamic tolling
• Recording of images of vehicles and number plates and application of automatic number-plate recognition (OCR).

This tolling system consists of identification and classification equipment erected on gantries and TAGs fitted inside road users’ vehicles.

The gantries house the antennas that receive the ID codes from TAGs passing beneath, cameras that capture images of vehicles with no TAG, and automatic vehicle-classification  equipment.

SICE can supply:

• System engineering
• Gantries.
• TAG
• Transaction management centre.
• Call centre for the system.

Installation, commissioning and maintenance of all the system’s hardware and software.
This system minimises the time required for users to pay the relevant tolls for their use of the road.