GNSS road pricing or GNSS-based tolling is the charging of road users using
Global Navigation Satellite System
A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geopositioning. A satellite navigation system with global coverage is termed global navigation satellite system (GNSS). , four global systems are op ...
(GNSS) sensors inside vehicles.
Road pricing
Road pricing are user charge, direct charges levied for the use of roads, including Toll road, road tolls, distance or time-based fees, congestion pricing, congestion charges and charges designed to discourage the use of certain classes of ve ...
using GNSS simplifies distance-based tolling for all types of roads in a tolled road network since it does not require the installation and operation of roadside infrastructure, such as
tollbooth
A tollbooth (or toll booth) is an enclosure placed along a toll road that is used for the purpose of collecting a Toll (fee), toll from passing traffic. A structure consisting of several tollbooths placed next to each other is called a toll p ...
s or microwave-based toll gantries. Instead, all vehicles required to pay the distance-based fees are equipped with an On Board Unit (OBU).
GNSS-based electronic tolling is used to charge trucks above 3.5 tons for road usage on the entire national road network in European countries such as Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Belgium, Russia, the Czech Republic, and in Bulgaria. Like the Czech Republic, Poland plans to replace its microwave-based tolling system with a GNSS-based solution in 2021. Satellite-based technology can generate greater toll revenue and eliminate the problem of congestion caused by traffic diversion when vehicles subject to tolls are no longer motivated to drive on alternative routes in order to avoid the distance-based fees, since all roads can be easily tolled without the need for installing otherwise costly roadside infrastructure.
Once installed, the GNSS-based road pricing system can also be used for other applications such as in parking and
insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...
. After the introduction of the first GNSS-based tolling systems in Europe, some critics argued that this approach could lead to an invasion of people’s privacy. However, the European Union's
General Data Protection Regulation
The General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), abbreviated GDPR, is a European Union regulation on information privacy in the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). The GDPR is an important component of ...
(EU
2016/679(GDPR) applies since 25 May 2018.
India's Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is called the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) or Navigation Indian Constellation (NavIC). It is a satellite network that provides location information to the Indian region and the surrounding areas.
History
Even though GNSS and
electronic toll collection
Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...
have been used for decades, the idea of using satellites for road tolling is relatively recent. The first successful demonstration of GNSS Road Pricing systems was given in 1994 during the ETC field trials on the A555 motorway between Bonn and Cologne (Germany) using the American NavStar GPS System, which was commissioned that year (there were no other GNSS systems that had been commissioned in 1994). In 1998, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
published a report which proposed the use of GNSS to charge vehicles by distance. Germany introduced the first the GNSS road pricing system for truck tolling in 2005 (
LKW-Maut). In 2007, the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
legislated the implementation of GNSS road pricing by 2011, and nationwide by 2016. However, the project was declared controversial and subsequently put on indefinite hold due to the Dutch government collapse on February 20, 2010. Official rejection of the proposed national road pricing in the Netherlands has been sealed after the largest party in Dutch government, i.e., the CDA, in March 2010.
The European Union issued the EFC-directive, in order to standardize European toll collection systems. Systems deployed after January 1, 2007 must support at least one of the following technologies: satellite positioning, mobile communications using the GSM-GPRS standard or 5.8 GHz microwave technology. The Directive also suggested that the "application of the new satellite positioning (GNSS) and mobile communications (GSM/GPRS) technologies to electronic toll systems may serve to meet the requirements of the new road-charging policies planned at Community and Member State level." Furthermore, the European Commission issued the Regulation on the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) which must be implemented by all Member States from 19 October 2021. Since six of the Member States have deployed GNSS-based tolling as of 2021, virtually all EETS-enabled OBUs include GNSS technology.
How it works
Although the architecture of individual systems may vary, all GNSS road pricing systems share key common elements in how they work. In a typical
road pricing
Road pricing are user charge, direct charges levied for the use of roads, including Toll road, road tolls, distance or time-based fees, congestion pricing, congestion charges and charges designed to discourage the use of certain classes of ve ...
system, in-vehicle sensors (OBUs) record time and position data. The vehicle data is processed into trip data, which is then matched to a set pricing scheme to produce a bill. Most GNSS-based toll systems process trip data at a back office (using a "thin client" approach), while some systems have been designed so that all the map matching and fee calculations take place within the OBU itself ("thick client" or "fat client), and some systems combine both approaches.
Applications
Congestion pricing
Some cities that have already implemented
congestion pricing
Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tel ...
are looking at ways to expand and improve their systems. Using GNSS road pricing, vehicles can be charged for the distance they travel within a cordoned area as opposed to paying a flat entry fee. In Singapore, the
Electronic Road Pricing
The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by way of road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlemen ...
(ERP) system will be switching to a GNSS-based system after the installation of the Onboard Units (OBUs) is completed in 2025.
Singapore's
Land Transport Authority
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of Transport (Singapore), Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore.
History Incorporation
The Land Transport Au ...
announced that the distance-based charging policy will not be implemented soon, with no concrete date on when the new policy will take place.
Time distance place (TDP) road pricing
GNSS road pricing enables road pricing policies based on time, distance and place (TDP). TDP road pricing is very much based on the road pricing principles outlined by
William Vickrey
William Spencer Vickrey (21 June 1914 – 11 October 1996) was a Canadian-American professor of economics and Nobel Laureate. He was a lifelong faculty member at Columbia University. A theorist who worked on public economics and mechanism design, ...
. In such a system, vehicles are charged based on when, where, and how much they drive. Some transportation experts see TDP road pricing as a fairer, more effective means of charging road users and
managing travel demand.
Next Generation Travel Demand Management: Time-Distance-Place Motor
Vehicle Use Charges
GNSS road pricing providers
EROAD
Continental
Satellic
SkyToll
Intelligent Mechatronic Systems
EFKON
* GMV, S.A., GMV
*Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...
* Kapsch TrafficCom
* Teletrac plc
* Skymeter
See also
*Global Navigation Satellite System
A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geopositioning. A satellite navigation system with global coverage is termed global navigation satellite system (GNSS). , four global systems are op ...
*Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide ge ...
*Road Pricing
Road pricing are user charge, direct charges levied for the use of roads, including Toll road, road tolls, distance or time-based fees, congestion pricing, congestion charges and charges designed to discourage the use of certain classes of ve ...
*Congestion pricing
Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tel ...
*Telematics
Telematics is an interdisciplinary field encompassing telecommunications, vehicular technologies (road transport, road safety, etc.), electrical engineering (sensors, instrumentation, wireless communications, etc.), and computer science (multimedia ...
*Electronic toll collection
Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...
* Vehicle miles traveled tax (VMT tax)
References
External links
Article on British Think Tank's recommendation of satellite road charging (2003)
GPS World article on GNSS automotive applications (2008)
GNSS Adoption in Road User Charging in Europe from the European GNSS Agency (2015)
T-Systems Overview of "Tolling as a Service" (2019)
Article on Using Satellite Positioning for All-Electronic Tolling from GNSS Consulting (2020)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gnss Road Pricing
Road traffic management
Electronic toll collection