Toll Collect
|
|
Toll Collect GmbH is a German company that has developed and is running the toll billing system for trucks on German motorways.
The company is a consortium led by DaimlerChrysler and Deutsche Telekom. It has won a bid for the development of a toll billing system from the German Government. The development of the system started in September 2002. The technology is based on the Global Positioning System, and a Web Application for booking truck routes in advance. Trucks are equipped with Embedded Systems called "On Board Units" (OBUs). OBUs are used for positioning, monitoring and billing. Additionally the OBUs have infrared interfaces for communicating with stationary control bridges on the motorways.
Since the end of 2002 several hundred engineers and programmers worked on the project. Some articles report more than 1000 experts involved in the project. The rollout was first scheduled for the end of August 2003, but there was not enough time. The deadline was first shifted by 2 months, then by at least one year. There have been, and still are, considerable disputes between Toll Collect and the German Government about damages to be paid by Toll Collect to the Government because of the long delay in the deployment of the system.
The system was opened January 1, 2005. Trucks are charged 12.4 Eurocent/km, payable at toll booths if they do not have electronic units that permit automatic billing.
External links
- Official Website of the project (http://www.toll-collect.de)
- article on opening (http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=561&fArticleId=2361019)de:Toll Collect