Tolling systems have undergone a significant evolution, becoming more streamlined and intelligent. These advancements not only minimize the need for physical roadside infrastructure but also leverage data as a valuable asset. Smart toll collection systems are now harnessing data to enhance the efficiency and security of cashless tolling.
Toll collection plays a vital role in highway operations, providing crucial funding for construction and maintenance. Traditional manual toll collection is increasingly being replaced by electronic toll collection (ETC) systems, which employ a range of detection and payment technologies to expedite the process and reduce delays.
Technologies Used
Modern toll systems typically consist of vehicle tracking mechanisms, identification systems, and registration and billing platforms. “Tracking is achieved either through global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) or via checkpoints strategically positioned along the tolled road section,” explains Michael Leyendecker, Director of Tolling Sales for Europe at Vitronic Machine Vision. “For identification, most systems utilize vehicle-to-infrastructure communication or license plate recognition (LPR).”
José Luis Añonuevo, GM of Traffic Management Systems Operations at Indra, highlights that RFID-based electronic tolls can be seamlessly integrated across all road corridors. This involves equipping vehicles with a windshield-mounted tag, which communicates with antennas in the toll area. The toll amount is then instantly charged to the user’s preferred payment method, such as a debit card, credit card, or prepaid card.
Increased Use of Video and AI
Emovis is another company that has developed various smart toll collection and payment solutions. These include cash-less, barrier-free, roadside tolling using a combination of laser, RFID, video imaging treatment and thermal cameras to track and charge travelling vehicles; pay-by-plate solution using a combination of optical character recognition (OCR) combined with AI learning software to constantly improve the automated car recognition performances; satellite-based pay-per-kilometer solution allowing to record and charge the motorists according to the actual distance travelled on certain roads while ensuring full privacy; cloud-based interoperability platform allowing seamless travel across multiple tolled infrastructures with a single tag; and electronic payment back office covering multiple payment modes (credit cards, debit cards and so on) with full PCI/DESS compliance.
Benoît Rossi, Director of Business Development and Marketing at Emovis, notes the growing popularity of video-only tolling systems. This trend is driven by improvements in optical character recognition (OCR) technology, reducing the reliance on physical tags. Rossi also points to the rise of embedded devices, such as ODBII devices and connected odometers, and the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the performance of road sensors.
Emovis has been involved in various projects, including tolling on the U.K.’s Mersey Gateway Bridge. Their solution combines loops and laser detection to trigger both front and rear license plate reading, as well as thermal imaging and laser for classification and vehicle count for auditing purposes.
“We are committed to finding solutions to the mobility challenges of the future. With a forward-thinking strategy, we lead on innovation in the digitalization of road payment methods and mobility solutions through the implementation of free flow toll projects in numerous countries,” Rossi said.
It’s important to note that the specific type of toll system and its components are tailored to the requirements of the implementing authority. This includes selecting road-level equipment, sensors, and antennas suitable for vehicle classification and identification, as well as software solutions for connecting with banking institutions.
Why Use Smart Tolling?
According to Leyendecker, a key benefit of smart tolling is the introduction of a usage-based fee for road network access. “This is a fair way of refinancing, as users only pay for what they consume. It also encourages carpooling or public transportation, which reduces congestion and emissions,” he explains.
Justin Hamilton, Product Manager at Kapsch TrafficCom, highlights additional advantages of deploying smart, all-electronic tolling systems:
* Lower operating costs for toll operators.
* Enhanced ability to integrate additional services with the tolling system.
* Reduced risk of revenue leakage, often observed in manual, cash-based tolls.
* Flexible pricing based on traffic levels to influence traffic patterns and alleviate congestion.
* Improved understanding of traffic patterns and identification of crash hotspots through data collection and analysis, leading to safer roads.
* Integration of road tolling and revenue collection with complementary intelligent transport solutions, such as weigh-in-motion (WIM) for heavy vehicles, vehicle-to-infrastructure communication (V2X), and congestion management. Some countries in Asia have even deployed natural disaster early warning systems through their smart tolling networks.
How to Select a System
Regardless of the chosen toll solution, Hamilton emphasizes the importance of robust and reliable hardware and software. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution in tolling. The chosen system will likely vary depending on whether tolls apply to all vehicles or just a specific segment, such as heavy goods vehicles (HGVs),” he explains.
Ultimately, any selected system must strike a balance between cost and effectiveness. “To achieve the best balance, authorities should consider all potential technological solutions and in-vehicle devices, typically consisting of RFID (TDM, 6C), European Committee for Standardization dedicated short-range communications (CEN DSRC), LPR, or GNSS,” Hamilton advises.
Enforcement is Key
Hamilton stresses that effective enforcement is crucial for a tolling system to function efficiently. “Without the ability to fully enforce all tolls, both technically and legally, the system will not operate at peak efficiency. Enforcement typically requires LPR cameras, coupled with a capable roadside and back-office setup,” he says.
Vitronic’s project in Poland exemplifies this. In 2021, the Polish government transitioned from paper ticket payments to a modern GNSS-based electronic payment system. While this improved traffic flow and toll payment convenience, it also created a challenge: the new system made it easier to bypass payment, intentionally or unintentionally.
To address this, Vitronic supplied 102 patrol cars equipped with its Enforcement Bar – a fully automatic and mobile number plate recognition system (ANPR) that can be installed on top of a patrol car. This solution enables reliable enforcement of toll payment, regardless of weather, visibility, or vehicle type, allowing patrol cars to monitor traffic or enforce from the roadside, combining precision and flexibility.
2025 Updates: Market Growth and AI Integration
The electronic toll collection market has experienced remarkable expansion since 2022, with projections showing significant growth potential. The electronic toll collection market is likely to be valued at USD 10.19 billion in 2025 and reach USD 15.20 billion by 2030. It is expected to register a CAGR of 8.3% during the forecast period. This robust growth reflects the global shift toward smart transportation infrastructure and the increasing adoption of contactless payment systems. AI integration has become a cornerstone of this expansion, with machine learning algorithms now enabling real-time traffic analysis, predictive maintenance of toll infrastructure, and automated decision-making processes that optimize revenue collection while minimizing operational costs.
Advanced AI Applications
Beyond the basic optical character recognition improvements mentioned in earlier systems, AI applications in toll collection have evolved to encompass sophisticated predictive analytics and dynamic optimization capabilities. Modern systems now employ supervised learning time series models for traffic prediction, allowing toll operators to anticipate congestion patterns and adjust pricing strategies accordingly. Reinforcement learning frameworks have been implemented to optimize toll operations in real-time, automatically adjusting lane configurations, processing speeds, and resource allocation based on current traffic conditions. These AI-driven models can dynamically adapt to changing traffic patterns, weather conditions, and special events, ensuring optimal system performance while maximizing revenue collection efficiency.
5G Integration
The integration of 5G technology has revolutionized electronic toll collection systems by enabling ultra-low latency communication and real-time data processing capabilities that were not feasible with previous network technologies. 5G networks facilitate instantaneous vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, allowing for seamless toll transactions even at highway speeds without requiring vehicles to slow down or stop. This technology enhancement supports massive IoT deployments across toll networks, enabling simultaneous processing of thousands of vehicles per minute while maintaining data accuracy and security. The enhanced bandwidth and reduced latency of 5G also enable more sophisticated enforcement mechanisms, real-time traffic management integration, and improved interoperability between different toll systems across regional and national boundaries.
Top 10 Countries Using Electronic Toll Collection
Based on market research and infrastructure development, the following countries are leaders in electronic toll collection implementation:
1. **United States** – Extensive ETC systems across multiple states with E-ZPass and similar technologies
2. **China** – Massive nationwide ETC network covering thousands of kilometers of highways
3. **Japan** – Comprehensive ETC system covering the majority of the country’s extensive expressway network
4. **Germany** – Leading European market with advanced toll systems for commercial vehicles
5. **France** – Well-established toll collection infrastructure across major highway networks
6. **Singapore** – Pioneer in smart tolling with advanced road pricing systems
7. **Malaysia** – Extensive toll road network with widespread ETC adoption
8. **South Korea** – Advanced ETC systems integrated with smart transportation infrastructure
9. **Italy** – Comprehensive toll collection covering major highway corridors
10. **United Kingdom** – Modern toll systems including congestion charging and bridge tolling