Germany launches GPS-aided toll system

GPS World, Feb, 2005

A much-maligned system that uses GPS positioning and GSM telephony to track distance traveled by commercial trucks on German toll roads began apparently trouble-free operations January 1 after an 18-month delay.

Designed and built by Toll Collect--a consortium made up of automaker DaimlerChrysler, Deutsche Telekom, and French motorway operator Cofiroute--the truck tolling system is expected to collect about [euro]3 billion (US$3.75 billion) a year in fees, with the money being used to invest in German transport infrastructure from roads to waterways.

With the help of computerized on-board units (OBUs), the Toll Collect system establishes the position of the vehicles, tracks their routes, calculates toll fees, and transmits this data at regular intervals via GSM to a data center for billing. The OBU is provided by Toll Collect free of charge.

Trucks weighing more than 12 tons must pay 16 cents per kilometer to use Germany's highway network, which spans 12,000 kilometers and is Europe's largest transit system. About 800,000 trucks use German highways every day, according to the German transport ministry.