New Delhi, 23rd July, 2008: The Association of Toll and Traffic Systems Integrators of India (ATTSII) has recommended guidelines for a suitable Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) to the working group formed by the Committee of Road Safety and Traffic Management, Ministry of Surface Transport and Highways to determine the technology for Advance Traffic Management Systems, Advance Travel or Information Systems and Electronic Toll collection Systems. The association proposes CEN 278 standard based on DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) microwave technology for the Indian subcontinent keeping in mind the Indian environment and driving conditions.

Representing the association, Mr. Sachin Bhatia, President ATTSII and Country Director of KAPSCH METRO JV said, “CEN 278 is the most acceptable technology worldwide with interoperability standards. It is already successfully implemented at the Delhi – Gurgaon Expressway, the largest 32 lane toll plaza in India. Introduction of smart tags based on microwave technology has received overwhelming response from drivers who earlier had to wait in long queues for several hours at the Toll. Now, it only takes few seconds for each vehicle to pass through, significantly reducing waiting time. CEN 278 is a cost effective technology as multiple vendors are present in the market to ensure that customers get the best competitive deal.

“At a time when India is starting to put in place the ETC technology, it should adopt the most advanced technology that is pre tested, allows wider applications and faster data transfer speed. We cannot afford to lose time in deciding on a technology as there is an urgent need to meet the ever increasing traffic management requirements in India that suits the masses and is most viable to implement,” said Mr. Aman Kishore ,VP of the ATTSII and Managing Director of International Road Dynamics (IRD) South Asia.

“IRD have successfully implemented CEN 278 standard microwave based Electronic Toll Collection(ETC) technology in April 2006 at Hoogly River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) site at Vidyasagar Setu – Kolkata. HRBC is a West Bengal Government organization for operation, implementation and maintenance of Hoogly Bridge. Currently, it has 24 lanes at 1 Plaza with 4 ETC Lanes and is efficiently meeting requirements of the department to cater to heavy traffic volumes in a matter of seconds at the entry to Kolkata city,” added Mr. Kishore.

He further explained, “Most of the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) operators are opting for technology for ETC which is more cost effective and operationally efficient for Indian conditions. Recently, we have bagged an order for implementation of CEN 278 standard microwave based ETC from one of biggest BOT and O&M operators in the country – Ideal Road Builders (IRB), Mumbai for one of its locations at Mumbai’s Entry Points. The decision of opting for Microwave based ETC technology by such a reputed company must have been taken after much due diligence.”

“The major advantage of the microwave technology is the presence of numerous vendors in the market that generates fair competition. We must understand the emerging traffic volume in our country and we must opt and guide for technology which best meets diverse user needs and national interest, rather than being guided by commercial interest of vendors.

“CEN 278 standard is based on microwave technology, making it more reliable, robust and viable. A very recent example is the stormy morning of 14th May; any other known standards based on other technologies like infrared would have created chaos at points where it would have been applied. This is because in dusty weather, data fails to be securely transmitted, resulting in distortion in reporting and further leading to revenue leakages at tolling booths. As ATTSII represents the road operators in India, we sincerely hope to provide the best infrastructure and cost effective method of ETC for the end benefits for our people, we strongly recommend CEN 278 to be included as a policy due to its advantages outweighing that of any other present technology, pre -tested and widely accepted”, further explained Mr. Bhatia.

“It is a proven technology being used for electronic toll collection for many years around the world. This proves also our more than 140 reference projects in 30 countries in the Asian/Pacific region, Europe, Australia, Latin America and in South Africa. This technology guarantees thanks the reliability of the tolling system and the low error rate the maximum toll income and it is the perfect choice for charging on motorways, expressways and even secondary main roads. With respect to interoperability the DSRC is the only working technology today providing the necessary standards and specifications. We have also already made very good experiences with using of the DSRC tolling systems for the improving of the road safety and for the optimizing of the traffic flow by the installation of traffic data sensors or variable message signs on the toll gantries,” said Erwin Toplak, Management Board, Kapsch TrafficCom AG.

About ATTSII

The Association of Toll and Traffic Systems Integrators of India (ATTSII) has been established in India for the Toll and traffic Industry players to share their views; ideas and technologies through a common platform. The Association comprises of the leading players of the Industry as below:

• IRD, Canada / India
• Kapsch TrafficCom AG; Austria/ India
• GEA; France / India
• CS ROUTE ; France/ India
• Metro Road Systems ; India
• Q-Free / Comvision , India

About Kapsch TrafficCom AG

Kapsch TrafficCom AG is an international supplier of innovative road traffic telematics solutions. Its principle business is the development and supply of electronic toll collection (ETC) systems, in particular for the multi-lane free-flow (MLFF) of the traffic, and the technical and commercial operation of such systems. Kapsch TrafficCom also supplies traffic management systems, with a focus on road safety and traffic control, and electronic access systems and parking management. With more than 140 reference projects in 30 countries in Europe, Australia, Latin America, in the Asian/Pacific region and in South Africa, and with almost 12 million on-board units (OBUs) and nearly 11,000 equipped lanes, Kapsch TrafficCom has positioned itself among the leading suppliers of ETC systems worldwide. Kapsch TrafficCom is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and has subsidiaries and representative offices in 20 countries.

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ROAD SECTOR

- India has about 3.3 million kilometers road network, which is the second largest in the world. It includes National Highways, State Highways, Major District Roads and Rural Roads.

- National Highways (NHs) having length of 66590 km, constitute only 2 per cent of the total road network but share approximately 40 per cent of the total traffic on roads.

- Overall Achievements made by the Ministry through all agencies i.e. NHAI, State PWDs and BRO under different schemes of development of National Highways during the calendar year 2007 from January 2007 to October, 2007 are as under

National Highways Development Projects Phase I, II, III and V

The present status of NHDP I, II, III and V as on 30th November, 2007, is as under:

Golden Quadrilateral (GQ): Out of total Length of 5846 Km, four laning of 5629 km has been completed and the balance length is under implementation.

During the calendar year 128 km length has been completed.

North-South & East-West Corridors: Out of total length of 7300 km for four laning, 1559 km length has been completed and 4762 km length is under implementation. The remaining length is under various stages towards award of work.

During the calendar year 707 km length has been completed.

Port Connectivity Project & Other National Highways: Under Port Connectivity, out of 380 km, 163 Km has been completed and 211 km is under implementation. The work is yet to be awarded in remaining length. Out of 945 km of other National Highway, so far 337 km has been completed and four laning of 605 km is under implementation.

During the calendar year 28 km length has been completed for the Port Connectivity

National Highways Development Project Phase – III, V, VI & VII

Government has approved up gradation of 780 Km of National Highways under NHDP Phase-IIIA in Bihar at an estimated cost of Rs,6782 Crore in April 2007. With this approval, total length approved under Phase-IIIA is 4815 km at an estimated cost of Rs.33,069 crore.

Government has approved upgradation of 7294 km under NHDP Phase IIIB at an estimated cost of Rs.47557 crore in April 2007.

With approval of NHDP Phase-IIIB, total length for NHDP Phase-III is 12109 km at an estimated cost of Rs.80,626 crore. NHDP Phase-III is targeted for completion by December, 2013.

12 nos of contracts involving a length of 749 km under NHDP phase III have been awarded so far.

Government has approved construction of stand alone Ring Roads, Bypasses, Grade Separators, Flyovers, elevated roads, tunnels, road over bridges, underpasses, service roads, etc. on BOT (Toll) mode under NHDP Phase VII in December 2007 at an estimated cost of Rs.16680 crore.

In all 18 Nos. Contracts for the length of 928 km amounting to Rs. 6816 Crore were awarded by NHAI under NHDP Phase III,IV & VI.

Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North-East (SARDP-NE)

The modified SARDP-NE programme approved by Govt. on 1.10.2007 envisages widening of 3846 km of National Highways and improvement including widening/improvement of 4891 km of State roads. This will ensure the connectivity of remaining 58 district head quarters to the National Highways / State Roads in the 8 North-Eastern States.

Ministry has set up a High Powered Inter Ministerial Committee to approve and co-ordinate individual sub projects under SARDP-NE. Till date Committee has approved various sub projects covering 664 km length at an estimated cost of Rs. 1613 Crore under Phase “A” of the program.

Central Road Fund

Under the Central Road Fund Scheme, an amount of Rs. 12830 crore has been earmarked for all categories of roads (including share of Railways). Out of this, Rs.6541.06 crore have been allotted for National Highways, Rs.1565.32 crore for the State Roads, Rs.3825 crore for the Rural Roads and a sum of Rs.173.93 crore to be given as grants for development of Inter-State Connectivity and Economic Importance Roads. An amount of Rs. 724.69 Crore has been allotted to the Ministry of Railways for construction of Road Over Bridges/ Road Under Bridges and other safety works in unmanned level crossing.

During the calendar year 2007 till 30^th November 2007, 408 proposals amounting to Rs. 1263.09 Crore have been approved for improvement of State Roads under CRF.

Economic Importance & Inter-State connectivity (E&I and ISC)

In the current financial year 2007-2008 an allocation of funds of Rs 173.93 Crore has been made for E & I and ISC.

During the calendar year so far, 41 nos. (16 of EI and 25 ISC) proposals amounting to Rs. 347.79 Crore with a central share of 302.93 Crore have been given in-principle approval for improvement of State Roads under Economic Importance & Inter-state Connectivity Scheme.

Public Private Partnership

BOT (Toll) Based Projects: So far 82 (56 NHAI+ 26 MoSRTH) projects valued about Rs. 23104.31 Crore on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis (Toll based projects) have been awarded. Out of this, 32 (8 NHAI+ 24 MoSRTH) projects have been completed and 50 projects are under progress.

During the calendar year, 10 (NHAI) contracts for 698 km of length have been awarded on BOT (Toll) basis.

TRANSPORT SECTOR

Accreditation of bus body builders:

This Department has notified the rules for accreditation of bus body builders on 23.3.2007. As per these rules, the bus body builders in the country would be accredited through the system of Zonal and National Level Accreditation Board. It is expected that these rules would come into effect from 23^rd March 2008. This would bring uniformity in the bus body design and enhance safety and comfort to the passenger

Amendment in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988

The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 1^st March 2007 has approved the proposal of this Ministry to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to enhance penalties for various traffic offences, to delegate powers to the states , to make the transport authorities in the States more responsive and to rationalize various provisions in accordance with new/emerging requirements as well as compensation to road accident victims. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2007 has been introduced in Rajya Sabha on 15.5.2007 and the same has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture for examination and appropriate recommendation.

Creation of Dedicated body on Road Safety and Traffic Management

A committee under the chairmanship of Shri S.Sunder, Former Secretary erstwhile Ministry of Surface Transport was constituted on 23.11.2005 to deliberate and make recommendations for creation of dedicated body on Road Safety and Traffic Management. The Committee has submitted its report on 20.2.2007. The main recommendations of the Committee include creation of an apex body i.e. National Road Safety & Traffic Management Board at national level to promote road safety and improve traffic management in India, through an Act of the Parliament. In its advisory role, it has been proposed that the Board will advise Government on various road safety aspects. Creation of similar State level boards has also been suggested in the report. The Committee has suggested earmarking of minimum one per cent of total proceeds of cess on diesel and petrol for Road Safety Fund. A note for Committee of Secretaries for creation of a National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board is being finalised.

Carriage by Road Act, 2007

The carriage by Road Act, 2007 been notified in the Gazette of India on 1^st October 2007 after obtaining presidential assent on the Carriage by Road Bill, 2007 passed by Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on 7.9.07 and 10.9.07 respectively.. The new Act would replace the Carriers’ Act, 1865 and would cater to the need of the modern day trade and transport by road. The new Act would help to make the transport system transparent and modernise the systems and procedures of the transportation trade through registration of common carrier. It also provides scope for apportionment of liability between the common carrier and the consignor.

National Road Safety Council:

10^th meeting of the National Road safety Council was held on 21^st April 2007 at Coimbatore As a follow up to this meeting, a high powered committee under the chairmanship of Transport Minister, Tamil Nadu has been set up to address the problems faced by the States in enforcement of the provisions relating to overloading, speed governors, speed fixing limit of motor vehicles, other road safety issues and to suggest proper mechanism to formulate an effective National Road safety Policy.

Road safety activities:

During the current year grants-in-aid have been sanctioned to 121 number of NGOs for carrying out road safety activities in the country.

Refresher training to about 60000 drivers of heavy commercial vehicles in the unorganized sector has been sanctioned during the year 2007-08

Source: pib.nic.in

The battle for controlling the technology standard for electronic toll collection systems on Indian highways appears to be hotting up. With Austrian company Efkon pitching for ISO CALM infrared technology standard for NHAI’s electronic toll collection (ETC) project, other players in the space, supporting the CEN 278 standard, have upped the ante and formed an association, called the Association of Toll and Traffic System Integrators of India (ATTSII).

ASSOCIATION FOR CEN 278

The ATTSII President, Mr Sachin Bhatia, also happens to be the Country Director of Kapsch Metro JV. Kapsch TraffiCOM is an Austrian company that has supplied ETC equipment in Austria, Australia, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and South Africa.

“The association’s mandate includes ensuring interoperability amongst ETC systems in the country and adoption of CEN 278 microwave standards in all national and State highways,” Mr Bhatia said, adding that they would look into the common issues of road operators.

While Kapsch, GEA, IBI, Q-Free, CS Route and Elkosta have become members of the association, IRD is in the process of joining up. Listing out the factors that call for adoption of CEN 278 standard, he said: “The entire ISO CALM standard is not yet developed. There is a single vendor source for ISO CALM infrared equipment, unlike in CEN 278, where there are several vendors.”

He also suggested that CEN would be much more economical than ISO CALM. Giving an analogy of the GSM-CDMA telecom standards he said: “Wouldn’t any phone that is developed which supports both GSM and CDMA standards be more expensive than one supporting only GSM or CDMA?” Moreover, ATTSII alleges that the CALM infrared-based projects have run into trouble in Germany and Taiwan.

VOTING FOR ISO CALM

At a time when India is starting to put in place the ETC technology, it should adopt the most advanced technology that allows for wider applications and faster data transfer speed, said Mr Pushkar Kulkarni, CEO, Efkon Group India. Adoption of ISO CALM allows for upgrades in the future.
“To ensure interoperability, just adoption of CEN 278 standard is not enough. We require agreements across road operators as well,” Mr Kulkarni said, adding that ISO CALM has been adopted in Germany, Taiwan, Malaysia and South Korea. He added that even if four equipment vendors in the CALM infrared standard had been in a joint venture or had a technology transfer tie-up with Efkon earlier, as on date, they are independent companies and can compete with Efkon.

NHAI & ROAD OPERATORS

Meanwhile, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to invite a consultant that would help it implement the toll automation project in the best possible manner, according to sources. Giving the road operator perspective, Mr Manoj Dave, Head (O&M)-Roads, L&T, said: “This is an extremely difficult choice. While CEN 278 is well used in Europe, CALM is being set up as a standard.”

“Rather than going for ETC, the priority now is to have other basic tolling technologies that would address the problem of revenue leakages at tolling booths,” Mr Dave said, adding that the country can now opt for adopting smart card system only.

“We can wait for a few years for our standards body to tell us what should be adopted,” he said. The tussle started when NHAI recently floated a tender to undertake a ETC project. It invited bids for ETC based on 5.8 Giga Hertz Microwave DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) complying with CEN/TC-278.
Following this, companies supporting ISO CALM wrote to NHAI asking it to adopt the CALM standard for its project.