New ISO specification will help increase reliability of autonomous fee collection systems on road networks

A newly published ISO Technical Specification harmonizes the requirements for electronic fee collection (EFC) systems on roads subject to toll charges. It will facilitate mobility between different road networks and help to ensure reliable data collection and correct charging.

ISO TS 12813:2009, Electronic fee collection – Compliance check communication for autonomous systems, will help to ensure the optimal use of on-board equipment (OBE) interfacing with satellite positioning to collect the data required for charging for the use of roads in an autonomous mode, without relying on dedicated road-side infrastructure.

This will allow the amount of road usage to be recording in all toll charging systems as vehicles passes through, including motorway tolling, road use taxation and area tolling.

ISO/TS 12813 defines the requirements for using dedicated short range communication (DSRC) between on-board equipment and an interrogator for the purpose of checking compliance of road use with a local toll regime. This will enable checking of non-national vehicles and thus enable cross border enforcement of non-compliant vehicles. Its use will increase the consistency and accuracy of electronic fee collection for the benefit of toll chargers and road users alike.

Wolfgang Beier, leader of the group of experts that developed the standard comments: “ISO TS 12813 will help road users with their increasing need for mobility and convenience, as well as ensuring that enforcement operators stay informed that they are charged accurately on the basis of reliable data.”

The scope of the Electronic Fee Collection (EFC) standards relates to EFC charging systems and information exchanges over the interfaces. The EFC standards focus on the interface between the on-board and the roadside equipment, but also deal with the ‘Information data flows between operators’. The standards primarily cover EFC systems based on Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC); Cellular Network / Global Navigation Satellite Systems (CN/GNSS), and Integrated Circuit Card (ICC) technologies.

The EFC standards suite includes not only “requirements” but also associated test procedures, in order to support conformity evaluation of EFC on-board and roadside equipment. It also includes Security guidelines that can be useful in the preparation or evaluation of security requirements.

The EFC standards are fundamental to achieving national and international interoperability. They are used in more than 40 countries (Japan, Australia, South America, Europe, etc.) and 100 systems around the world. More than 50 millions and 25 thousands standard compliant on-board and roadside equipment have been issued, respectively.

ISO/TS 12813:2009, Electronic fee collection – Compliance check communication for autonomous systems, was jointly developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 204, Intelligent Transport systems and CEN/TC 278, Road transport and traffic telematics.