Toll Collect

The technology is based on the Global Positioning System, and a web application for booking truck routes in advance.

The rollout was first scheduled for the end of August 2003, but was delayed repeatedly, causing the government to forfeit toll collection on trucks using the Autobahn.

Since the installation of an On Board Unit (OBU) by a professional service is costly and/or time-consuming, the option of paying for a specific trip tickets was also provided from the very beginning (as illustrated).

[1] Generally, for any truck travelling on the German motorways, the distance-based fees can be paid by different means: through the advanced purchase of a specific route via the internet or at payment terminals (typically located in fuel stations), or fully automated through the use of OBUs that are professionally installed in the trucks.

Through the use of satellite navigation, the position and the trip are data stored in the OBU which enable the device to determine the tolling fees that apply for the route driven.

The data generated from these compliance checks are compared in the central computing system, and enforcement measured being started.

Truckers without electronic billing units use a Toll Collect terminal to select a route and pay the appropriate toll.
Camera gantry in Germany for toll compliance enforcement