Global ETC systems revenues are expected to grow from $4.48 billion in 2013 to $8.5 billion in 2018, with a CAGR of 14% and North America as the vital region. “Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) is finding new momentum as a way to manage traffic via dynamic toll pricing and address urban congestion issues. At the same time toll revenues will help governments and road operators deploying intelligent transportation systems including through V2X infrastructure. However, ETC remains characterized by a large degree of fragmentation and closed approaches hindering interoperability and widespread adoption,” says VP and practice director Dominique Bonte.

Two main ETC technology battles are taking place:

  • DRSC versus RFID – At toll gates RFID is well established in the North America, while in Europe DRSC is the standard technology, with Asia showing a mixed situation.
  • Short-range (RFID/DSRC) versus wide area (GNSS + Cellular) - Future growth of area and city tolling will favor wide area technologies.

Additionally, video analytics in the form of camera-based Automatic Licensing Plate Recognition (ALPR) remains a key enforcement and revenue collection technology.

ETC ecosystem participants offer a wide range of solutions such as tags and transponders; software services and system integration; and toll system operations including maintenance, payment handling, and revenue assurance. Kapsch TrafficCom, Atlantia, and Transcore offer end-to-end services. Most ETC players such as Q-Free (hardware and software integration) and road operators Sanef (system integration) only cover parts of the value chain.

ABI Research’s “Electronic Toll Collection: A Key Business Driver for ITS and V2I” study covers types of ETC (highway, urban, and area tolling), ETC technologies (RFID, DRSC, video, and GNSS/cellular), use cases and benefits, as well as an in-depth review of the main implementations and the ETC ecosystem. ETC revenue forecast per region, type of toll collect, and technology are included.

The study is part of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Research Service.