GNSS road pricing a step closer

GNSS road pricing a step closer. Today, road transport faces major challenges such as the ever-increasing need for safety, as well as for reduced congestion and pollution.
February 23, 2012 Read time: 2 mins

2462 IRF BPC bringing GNSS-based road pricing a step closer to maturity

Today, road transport faces major challenges such as the ever-increasing need for safety, as well as for reduced congestion and pollution. These problems are particularly critical in highly populated zones, notably big cities and their surrounding areas.

Different schemes are being proposed to improve the situation, including road pricing systems to automatically charge drivers for their use of road infrastructures.

The booming use of Personal Navigation Devices (PND) opens new and challenging opportunities for the implementation of innovative satellite-based applications beyond basic navigational functions. Apart from road pricing systems, these include other promising applications such as Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) schemes for the insurance sector and leasing companies and the like, as well as Value Added Services (VAS) such as local mobility information.

Nevertheless, there are still several obstacles to larger scale uptake of such extended services based on Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies. For example, the technical and economical feasibility of large scale road pricing based on GNSS only is not yet proven. Likewise, the practicalities of using the same on-board equipment for different applications have to be established.

Given the high potential of key applications, the GINA (GNSS for INnovative road Applications) project, co-funded by the 2465 European Commission and the European GNSS Supervisory Authority (GSA), was recently launched to address current obstacles with a view to bringing road pricing and road VAS a step closer to reality.

Over the next 24 months, the 12 project partners, coordinated by the Spanish company GMV, will conduct analysis to demonstrate that the adoption of the European GNSS (currently EGNOS, and Galileo from 2013) for road pricing and VAS is both technically and commercially feasible.

Following an in-depth analysis of real end user requirements, GINA will initiate the implementation of a nation-wide demonstration in the Netherlands. In the second stage of this project, 100 cars equipped with dedicated equipment will circulate on the Dutch road network for a period of six months. By the end of the project, new business opportunities should be clearly defined for the road sector.

The future looks very promising for the installation of GNSS applications in both urban areas and at national level. Hopefully, GINA will trigger wider interest in adopting the GNSS approach from EU cities and countries.
Highway & Network Management

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Transurban to test Melbourne drivers in road trials, including tolls
    June 23, 2015
    Melbourne’s road users are the focus of a year-long study into what options are possible for funding road infrastructure projects including various user-pays models. The study headed by Australian toll roads operator Transurban will conducted across Melbourne’s entire road network to see how drivers react to tolling and other road-use models such as charging motorists for each kilometre travelled, a charge to access roads, annual fixed costs per kilometre on expected usage and price per trip. It will al
    Read More
  • Further co-operation between ASECAP and GSA
    May 30, 2012
    An extension to the existing collaboration between ASECAP and the European GNSS Agency (GSA) will increase efficiency. The aim is to exchange knowledge and experience and to examine together the potential and the use of GNSS applications in highway operations. This arrangement follows on from the 40th ASECAP Study and Information Days, which took place in Turin, Italy recently. The GSA supports the use of European GNSS in road transport to improve traffic management and road safety and reduce CO2 emissions.
    Read More
  • Delivering effective tolling programmes
    June 8, 2016
    New IRF course will support informed decision-making. The electronic toll collection (ETC) market is characterised by a diversity of solutions and systems which are frequently based on legacy developments addressing different technical and regulatory criteria. For national road agencies considering the deployment of ETC systems, this diversity of solutions means that comparing relative whole-life costs and strengths is a daunting task. Tolling related technologies have made tremendous progress over the
    Read More
  • Statistics important to assessment of transport projects
    April 13, 2012
    IRF Geneva's statistics guru, Cristian Gonzalez, explores the growing importance of data in public and private assessments of transport projects IRF's work on statistics is rarely in the limelight. It is, however, an essential component of the federation's key advocacy role on behalf of its members. Statistics are, indeed, a vital function of authoritative lobbying and knowledge sharing on the range of issues impacting our sector - from highlighting the persuasive economic business cases for investment in
    Read More

Highlighted Content