Workshop on Nationwide Electronic Toll Collection, held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on June 14, 2011

• Mr. C P Joshi , Honrable Minister Road Transport and Highways
• Mr.  Nandan Nilkani , Chairman , UIDAI
• Mr. R S GUJRAL , Chairman NHAI
• Mr. Ravi Palekar , GM (Electronics) , NHAI – Addressing the gathering
• Mr. Sachin Bhatia, CEO, Metro Infrasys

Workshop on Nationwide Electronic Toll Collection held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. With an objective of paving way for a unified Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) technology for National Highways in India, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways constituted a Committee under the chairmanship of Shri Nandan Nilekani Chairman of UIDAI with a mandate to examine all technologies available for Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) and recommend the most suitable one for implementation throughout India. The other members of the Committee are Prof. Pankaj Jalote, Director, IIIT-Delhi ; Dr. Kolin Paul, Asst. Professor, IIT-Delhi ; Shri A.V. Sinha, DG (Road Development) & Special Secretary, MoRT&H and Shri. V.L. Patankar, Member (Technical), NHAI (Member Secretary).

The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Dr. C.P. Joshi has said that we should chalk out a plan to increase the percentage of national highways from present 2.2 % to 5 % in the next 10 years. Delivering inaugural address at the Consultation Workshop with the Technology Providers and Concessionaires in respect of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) here today, he said that keeping in view the various types of highways there should be a hybrid pattern of toll collection. The Workshop was jointly organized by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, National Highways Authority of India & National Informatics Centre. The Chairman of UIDAI Shri Nandan Nilkeni & Minister of State for RT&H Shri Tusharbhai A. Chaudhary also addressed the workshop. Shri R.S. Gujral, Secretary Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Dr. V.K. Gairola, D.G (NIC) were present.

Based on the recommendations of the committee headed by Mr. Nandan Nilekani to use RFID technology for ETC, the Apex Committee, responsible for ETC implementation planning, is in the process of prescribing certain standards which should be complied with all over the country to ensure interoperability. The primary purpose of this workshop was to take feedback from the key stakeholders, comprising concessionaires and ETC technology service providers. Security, cost effectiveness, convenience and scalability have been the main criteria based on which the detailing has been done.

Based on the feedback, the specifications and data detailing will be finalized for open market release. The plan is that the authorized manufacturers will be producing Transceivers and Tags based on these standards, the concessionaires will be procuring these Transceivers and in turn, the technology service providers will be integrating the entire ETC system at the toll plaza. Although details on other aspects like clearing house are being worked out simultaneously, majority of the decisions will depend upon these standards only.

Followings are the Tolling Companies, RFID Manufacturer and concessionaire took part in the workshop:

• Kapsch Metro
• Egis Infra
• L&T Infra
• GMR
• HCC Infrastructure
• JICA
• IRDSA
• DSC
• EFKON India
• Siemens
• IAITO Infotech Pvt. Ltd.
• ESSEN, Mumbai
• ATT System, Banglore
• Mitsubishi
• IBI Group
• Neology
• Steria
• Tag Factory

Brief of discussion over finalization of technology between committee and Industry Peoples:

• Dr. B.K. Gairola, Director General, NIC  – extreme left
• Dr. Y.K. Sharma, DDG, NIC - middle position
• Dr. Rajat Moona, Director General of CDAC, IIT Kanpur
• Dr. Y.K. Sharma, DDG, NIC - extreme Right

Mr. Venkat from GMR expressed change from IP 66 to IP 65 for the readers as IP 65 is also good enough and IP 66 will increase the cost for the readers without any additional value.

Mr. Hari from Efkon
He raised an issue over the  relative humidity of 100% for Transceiver antenna.

Committee Conclusion :
Committee agreed for the IP 65 standard and 95% relative humidity as it comply against all possible environmental threat at toll scenario.

Mr. Anand Shenoy from IAITO Infotech Pvt. Ltd.
Raised his voice over minimum requirement of reading of 10 Tags per second with 240 bits of EPC memory and 64 bits of Tag Id.

Committee Conclusion: committee agreed onto change it to 2 Tags per second with above said minimum requirement. On the other query raised by Mr. Shenoy that the data retention period must be 3-4 year for the tag memory instead of 10 years as their is no UV protection asked for the tag and without any special material with the effect of UV rays its hard to maintain the data in tag for 10 years, The committee replied as they will keep it under consideration and if required they will bring it in next phase.

On the query raised by Team from Metro Infrasys- Mr. Nitin Thakur and Mr. Harimohan for the option of having color coded  Tags for different class of vehicles, as it will help in operation at toll plazas. The Committee said that it is difficult to see the color in the moving car in the sun. However committee will discuss it in next phase.

Mr. Vipul  Sharma(Left), Mr. Mayank Manish(Right)
The long discussed topic was the polarization standard for the antenna, Panel has asked for circular polarization pattern for the antenna but Mr. Vipul Sharma and Mayank Manish from one of the leading manufacturer of RFID Equipment Neology reasoned to have it linearly polarized due to its long range and less interference phenomenon, also linearly polarized antennas can work at higher speed , committee keep this for discussion and will revert again.

Mr. Manoj Agarwal and Mr. Manish from Delhi Gurgaon Expressway strongly supported the idea of a law for putting a penalty on cash vehicles coming to Tag lane .

For the standard for the communication between plaza server and CCH server, there will be addition of Plaza id into the prescribed format by the committee. Plaza level fare plan and policy will be governed by the plaza itself while the global discount will be governed by the CCH server and will be updated in all the plaza server by CCH server itself. Committee also agreed to look into the various aspects of fare plans at different plazas.

Highlights of the Workshop:

ETC critical components:
Tag Distribution Channel & Inventory Management

• On-line channels by user
• Authorized service centers of vehicles (Service centre need to install the SPV client software and antenna connection), since centre must have authorized people to affix tags.
• RTO(Operation is similar to above)
• Vehicle dealer network(Operation is similar to above)
• Authorized point of sale installation(POS can be insurance companies, PUC centers, Petrol Pumps etc; Operation is similar to above)

Inventory Management of Tags:
SPV will keep track of allocated EPC Ids, Tag Ids etc. It will perform a demand forecast Tags and keep the tags available for distribution through distribution channel.

Handling Special Cases

• Valid ETC enabled vehicle was ejected due to non-read of Tag – Premium cash lane should verify it with the ETC database.
• Clone Tag – If customer complains/suspects that his/her Tag is cloned, Tag re-initiation is to be done for same Tag. Old Tag value is marked for special handling.
• Change in registration number of vehicle – Vehicle should approach distribution channel network and get a new tag. Old tag is to be destroyed physically and listed for special handling.
• De-registration of vehicle (due to destruction/ end of life/ Export etc.)-Tag is to be destroyed physically and listed for special handling.

Listing for Special Attention
Vehicle is listed for special attention following conditions:

• Insufficient balance as determined by clearing house
• Credit card co. declined the payment
• On Police look-out
• Suspected cloned Tag
• Tag with invalid Vehicle Registration no. (e.g. when Registration no. is changed)
• When toll plaza operator notices Tag carrying details different from vehicle itself (e.g. the vehicle Registration no. and/ or Vehicle class)

Videos

Conclusions drawn at the end of the seminar:

Documents Attached:

• Agenda Workshop
• Apex Committee for ETC Implementations – GOI, Draft Specifications Document
• ETC Report on RFID – July 2010

Investment Opportunities for Managing Transportation Performance through Technology

U.S. Department of Transportation, Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office

16 January 2009

 The incoming Obama Administration has laid out several objectives for economic recovery plan investments, such as:

• Ready to go within a few months;
• Yield both short- and long-term benefits; and
• Create and maintain jobs.

In the transportation sector, state and local governments and transit agencies are compiling lists of projects that meet these criteria.  AASHTO, APWA and APTA, for example, have identified $64.3 billion, $15.4 billion and $12.2 billion respectively in “shovel-ready” projects that could begin quickly. As transportation is about moving people and goods safely and effectively, it is important to consider the scope and timing of the operational benefits these projects will deliver.  Effectively operating the transportation system is a daily process vital to the economy and central to transportation and transit agency missions.  Moreover, transportation operations provide continual public and private sector employment opportunities.  Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) use technology to enable operating agencies and private users to keep transportation systems performing as efficiently and safely as possible.

Investments in ITS and operations are fully consistent with the intent of the economic recovery plan and can be proffered as candidates.  For example, ITS investments that support system operations have the
following attributes:

Quick to Implement – ITS and operations investments requiring minimal new rights-of-way or construction are subject to a categorical exclusion under NEPA. Examples include traffic signal upgrades and ptimization, traffic adaptive signal control, transit signal priority, ramp metering, closed-circuit television, dynamic message signs, open road tolling, weigh-in-motion, transit AVL/CAD, and traffic incident anagement programs.  These projects can get underway fast, turning project dollars into jobs quickly.

Create Jobs – ITS and operations investments create technology sector jobs for engineers, electronics technicians, software developers, and system integrators.  On average, about 50 percent of ITS project spending is for direct labor as compared with 20 percent for new highway construction.

Provide Short- and Long-Term Benefits – ITS and operations investments provide long-term operational benefits by reducing congestion and improving transportation safety.  ITS technologies employed in work
zones provide immediate benefits in congestion management and safety during construction.

Environmental Benefits – ITS and operations investments contribute to reduced emissions and fuel consumption.

When considering ITS and operations investment to support transportation management and operations,
keep in mind that they can be:

• Stand-alone deployments;
• Incorporated as elements within new infrastructure-oriented projects; and
• Employed to manage traffic impacts created by other projects, such as work zones.

ITS and operations investments are an important part of a transportation investment portfolio.  Summarized below are benefit and cost data for two broad categories of ITS investments: (1) quickly-deployable projects to help maximize the safety, operational capacity, and environmental performance of existing, rehabilitated, or new infrastructure and (2) those that are specifically coupled to road and bridge projects to help mitigate traffic hazards and delays during construction.  Project categories identified in this paper could begin within 120 days of funding as either enhancements to existing infrastructure or as elements within broader transportation construction projects.

ITS for Maximizing Infrastructure Benefits

ITS can enhance the quality of life in most communities by improving traffic flow and decreasing delays.  Examples of these technologies include traffic signal optimization and retiming, transit signal priority, ransit CAD/AVL, safety service patrols, electronic border crossing systems, commercial vehicle credentialing, and surveillance and detection systems.  Regarding surveillance and detection, Congress has directed USDOT to establish a real-time traffic and travel condition monitoring system to enable States to se and share that data with other governments and the traveling public. The Department embarked on a egulatory development approach to stimulate and accelerate the expansion of real-time traffic and travel conditions monitoring.  A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was published on January 14, 2009 to engage the transportation community in effective approaches to accomplish this effort. The NPRM does not dictate a specific technology.  Examples of technologies used for real-time data collection include oadside, overhead, probe-based, in-pavement sensors, and video detection devices.

Table 1 identifies deployment-ready ITS investments for either stand alone projects or technologies that can be

incorporated into new or existing transportation infrastructure projects.  The table includes a summary of the key benefits for each type of project, including an assessment of whether the safety, mobility, and energy and environment impacts are considered to be high, medium, or low.  This assessment is based on the information contained in the ITS benefits database.

 

While these technologies can be deployed independently, there are good engineering, financial and political reasons to include them as elements of other capital projects.  Coordinating project installation can everage resources, minimize total amount of digging and repaving, and reduce the total time for deployment.

ITS for Mitigating Construction Impacts

Construction projects can have traffic impacts that reverberate across a region.  As the nation launches numerous

construction projects, it will be crucial to move vehicles through the work zones as efficiently as possible and to better manage traffic and inform the traveling public in the surrounding region.  Smart work zones, traffic incident management strategies, and enhanced traveler information are among the ITS solutions that can improve safety for workers and the motoring public as well as mitigate traffic delay during road and bridge construction projects.  Portable traffic management systems, dynamic message signs, dynamic lane merge systems, and variable speed limit systems are just a few examples of smart work zone technologies that can be deployed during major construction projects.  Table 2 follows the same format at table 1 and lists the significant benefits associated with integrating work zone management components with roadway and bridge construction projects.  On average, the cost to deploy and operate smart work zone systems is 4.5 percent of total construction costs

Source: National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC)

NHAI's First ETC(Electronic Toll Collection) PLAZA

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