science

Video tolling

Video tolling is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Video tolling rather than just read about it. In short: Video tolling (sometimes referred to as video billing, toll by plate, pay by mail, or pay by plate) is a form of electronic toll collection that uses video or still images of a vehicle's license plate to identify a vehicle liable to pay a road toll. The system dispenses with collection of road tolls using road-side cash or payment card methods, and may be used in conjunction with "all electronic" open road tolling…

Key takeaways

Video tolling belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Video tolling to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Video tolling from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Video tolling (sometimes referred to as video billing, toll by plate, pay by mail, or pay by plate) is a form of electronic toll collection that uses video or still images of a vehicle's license plate to identify a vehicle liable to pay a road toll. The system dispenses with collection of road tolls using road-side cash or payment card methods, and may be used in conjunction with "all electronic" open road tolling, to permit drivers without an RFID device (often referred to as a "Tag") to use the toll road.

Technology In a video tolling system the license plate number can be extracted from an image either by using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology or manual data-entry clerks. Video tolling is sometimes used in conjunction with "all electronic" open road tolling, to allow drivers without an RFID device (often referred to as a "Tag") to use the toll road. An all electronic system is a toll collection point that does not permit cash payment, and vehicle identification / toll collection is done using RFID or other electronic means. When video tolling is used in conjunction with all electronic systems, a fee is frequently added to the toll to offset the higher cost of processing video tolls. There are two forms of video billing: "registered" and "unregistered" accounts. In registered video billing, the motorist first registers the vehicle's plates with the tolling agency prior to using the toll road. The toll system will then associate the plate images with the account and debit the amount of the toll from the account. Unregistered systems look up the vehicle registration information from a government motor vehicle registration database and send a bill to the address in the database. There may be an extra charge for the additional processing.

North America

The first video tolling system in North America was the Highway 407 in the Greater Toronto Area. The 407 ETR system, which opened in 1997, has struggled somewhat with accuracy and customer service issues, and on 2003, settled a lawsuit related to potential incorrect charges on the system. Video Tolling systems are also being evaluated in the United States, and in 2006, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) deployed the first "Video Only" system on SH 121 north of Dallas, but not without some controversy with Cintra attempting to gain control and construction of the SH 121 Tollway; maintenance of the SH 121 Tollway was transferred to the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) in 2008 and was redesignated as the Sam Rayburn Tollway.

California Video tolling is used as a secondary enforcement measure for vehicles not equipped with a FasTrak RFID transponder on the toll roads, toll bridges, and high-occupancy toll lanes throughout California. When a vehicle does not have a transponder, or if a transponder is not detected at enforcement points, a violation enforcement system triggers a camera system that captures photos of the vehicle and its license plate for processing.

Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania Turnpike has fully converted to cashless toll collection across its entire network. Drivers without an E-ZPass transponder are billed through a plate-imaging program that photographs license plates at toll points and mails invoices to the vehicle's registered owner. This system has operated in its current form since 2020.

Europe

Austria In Austria works system called ASFINAG (Autobahnen-und-Schnellstraßen-Finanzierungs-Aktiengesellschaft), the Austrian financing provider for and operator of motorways (Autobahnen) and expressways (Schnellstraßen) uses a video tolling system called Videomaut (Video Toll). It covers parts of three motorways which are subject to special tolls (Sondermaut) in addition to the regular tolls paid through a road-tax disc (Vignette) for vehicles with a total weight of no more than 3.5 metric tonnes.

Availability Videomaut is available on the following routes:

A9 Pyhrn Motorway (Pyhrnautobahn), between Spital/Pyhrn and Ardning and between St. Michael and Übelbach, toll plaza of Bosruck A10 Tauern Motorway (Tauernautobahn), between Flachau and Rennweg, toll plaza of St. Michael i.L. A13 Brenner Motorway (Brennerautobahn), between Brenner Pass and Schönberg, toll plaza of Schönberg

Use and limitations To use Videomaut, the user must buy a Videomaut ticket, either online or in person at an ASFINAG customer service centre or authorised point of sale. The route, number of travels, and the number plate of the car to be used must be specified. A Videomaut ticket is valid for one year from the date it is issued. When approaching a toll plaza, the user must enter the lane marked Videomaut and travel no faster than 15 km/h. The car's number plate is read and identified automatically, and the vehicle is allowed to pass. If the number plate cannot be read, or no valid Videomaut ticket is associated with the number plate, the user is directed into a regular toll lane and must show a copy of the receipt for the Videomaut ticket as proof of purchase to the toll cashier. The toll cashier verifies the validity of the ticket and allows the vehicle to continue or directs the driver to pay the special toll incurred if the ticket is invalid or has expired. Videomaut is available only to cars without a trailer which do not exceed a width of 2.3 metres and a total weight of 3.5 metric tonnes.

Fees and discounts Videomaut tickets can be bought for a single or multiple passages or an unlimited number of passages for one year from the date the ticket is issued. Discounts are available to:

drivers holding road-tax discs that are valid for one year, commuters, military and alternative civilian service members, and drivers with disabilities.

Poland In Poland system called A4Go and AmberGo is available on two parts of highways: A4 on the section between Krakow and Katowice and on A1 on the section between Rusocin and Nowa Wieś. Payment is a possible via few mobile applications for IOS and Android: Autopay, Skycash, AmberGo, A4Go.

Australia In Australia, video tolling is a part of the e-TAG system, and is country-wide. The e-TAG system originated in the 1990s when Melbourne's CityLink, operated by Transurban, became the first tollway in the Southern Hemisphere to operate without traditional toll booths.

See also Videomaut home page ASFINAG home page

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Video tolling

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Video tolling claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Video tolling before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Video tolling ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Video tolling

In research: Video tolling appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Video tolling in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Video tolling is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Electronic toll collection, Radio-frequency identification, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Video tolling outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Video tolling in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Video tolling means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Video tolling out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Video tolling in simple terms?

Why does Video tolling matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Video tolling?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Video tolling.