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The federal government sees the potential for electronic toll collection in conjunction with vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology upgrades for vehicles and infrastructure.
A Federal Highway Administration spokesperson told Trucking Dive in an email earlier this month that driver voluntary adoption of the technology “will enable the tolling industry to leverage and transition to V2X technology for tolling.”
The Department of Transport’s V2X Adoption Plan, finalized last month, sets out a target timeline for enhancements to promote road safety and efficiency.
This comes after members of the public and industry players have long pointed out the gap between the use of electronic toll collection transponders in different parts of the country and the goal of providing nationwide continuity.
The V2X implementation framework was mandated by the National Transportation Safety Board, which has said the technology could have prevented deadly accidents.
With V2X, wireless communications can warn drivers of upcoming collisions and work in conjunction with other safety systems, according to the NTSB, and pilot projects have shown that applying the technology has reduced crash rates.
While safety is a major focus, the technology could also help speed the path to implementing electronic toll collection systems across the country, PJ Wilkins, executive director of E-ZPass Group, told Trucking Dive.
Congress sought to mandate nationwide interoperability on federal highways by Oct. 1, 2016. But different regions have invested in their own systems, and modernizing toll road infrastructure to read multiple transponders will still be costly and time-consuming, the International Bridge, Tunnels and Toll Road Association noted.
For example, E-ZPass now covers 20 states. Previously, different tolling agencies were unable to read the transponders due to different technology protocols. Tolling agencies also want to ensure that their devices work accurately in other regions.
But within two years, the E-ZPass network will expand to Texas and other central U.S. states, and potentially to West Coast states a year later, Wilkins said, adding that expanding coverage would mean nationwide interoperability.
Wilkins said connected cars could also offer an opportunity to do away with transponder boxes and set up a national clearinghouse.
