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Truckers without electronic billing units use a Toll Collect terminal to select a route and pay the appropriate toll.

Toll Collect GmbH is a German company that has developed and is running the tolling system for trucks (LKW-Maut) on German motorways.

The company was a consortium led by Daimler AG, Deutsche Telekom, and Cofiroute until 2018 when it was taken over by German Government. The consortium won a bid for the development of a toll billing system from the German government. The development of the system started in September 2002. The technology is based on the Global Positioning System, and a web application for booking truck routes in advance. Trucks are equipped with embedded systems called "On Board Units" (OBUs). OBUs are used for positioning, monitoring and billing. Additionally, the OBUs have infrared and Dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) interfaces for exchanging data with stationary enforcement gantries and mobile enforcement on the tolled road network.

Since the end of 2002 several hundred engineers and programmers worked on the project. Articles report more than 1000 experts were involved in the project^{[citation needed]}. 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. The deadline was first shifted by 2 months, then by at least one year. Not until the German government purchased Toll Collect were the long-lasting disputes between Toll Collect and the German government about the payment of damages due to the long delay in the launching system resolved. There were also accusations that during the tendering procedure for the system, the offers made by non-German companies were not given fair consideration.

The system was opened two years behind schedule on January 1, 2005. It was the first system in the world that deployed a national GNSS road pricing scheme. The charge per kilometre varies according to the number of axles and the vehicle's emission category, and is between 9 and 14 cents per kilometre. For a trip from Hamburg to Munich (776 km) for example, the costs lie between €69.84 and €108.64. 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).

In publications from December 2019, however, journalists attributed Toll Collect's whereabouts to the federal government to the contracts signed by Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer with industry representatives on the failed car toll in December 2018 and also critically assessed the role of the State Secretary and later Toll Collect boss Gerhard Schulz . According to this, the provision of parts of the Toll Collect infrastructure was probably already assured to Scheuer's contractual partners at the time before the bidding process for the Toll Collect privatization was officially ended in January 2019.^[1]

Technical background of the satellite based toll system

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 collected in the OBU are transferred to the data center by mobile data communication (GSM), and processed for billing. The fact that the system is "satellite based" relates to the positioning only, not to the communication of the OBU to the data center.

To prevent avoidance of toll payments (e.g. by switching off the OBUs), the trucks are photographed at approximately 300 toll enforcement gantries, and checked by approximately 450 mobile checking stations. The data generated from these compliance checks are compared in the central computing system, and enforcement measured being started. The non-compliance rate is published as being constantly less than 1%.^[2]

Plans to export the specific German solution to other countries were not realized, but a number of GNSS-based tolling solutions were implemented in European countries for distance-based charging of trucks. Plans to expand the system to value-added services, such as fleet management, were not implemented.^[3]

References

^ "Mission Toll Collect: Verkehrsminister Scheuer hat ein Mega-Problem". 2021-02-03. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2023-06-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^ Anfrage nach dem Informationsfreiheitsgesetz auf fragdenstaat.de
^ Daniel Delhaes (2013), "Völlig verfahrenes Verfahren", Handelsblatt (in German), no. 48, p. 6, ISSN 0017-7296

External links

Official Website of Toll Collect
Road tolls: How will it affect the modal split? Archived 2011-07-24 at the Wayback Machine Master thesis written by Carlos Braga and Magnus Källgren about Toll Collect and its possible results

[1] "Mission Toll Collect: Verkehrsminister Scheuer hat ein Mega-Problem". 2021-02-03. Archived from the original on 2021-02-03. Retrieved 2023-06-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

[2] Anfrage nach dem Informationsfreiheitsgesetz auf fragdenstaat.de

[handelsblatt-2013-48-6-3] Daniel Delhaes (2013), "Völlig verfahrenes Verfahren", Handelsblatt (in German), no. 48, p. 6, ISSN 0017-7296

[1]

[2]

[3]

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+{{expand German|topic=|otherarticle=Toll Collect|date=September 2016}}
-[[Image:TollCollectTerminal.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Truckers without electronic billing units use a Toll Collect terminal to select a route and pay the appropriate toll]]
+[[Image:TollCollectTerminal.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Truckers without electronic billing units use a Toll Collect terminal to select a route and pay the appropriate toll.]]
-'''Toll Collect GmbH''' is a [[Germany|German]] company that has developed and is running the tolling system for trucks ([[LKW-Maut]]) on German [[motorway]]s.
+'''Toll Collect GmbH''' is a German company that has developed and is running the tolling system for trucks ([[LKW-Maut]]) on German [[motorway]]s.
-The company is a consortium led by [[Daimler AG]], [[Deutsche Telekom]], and [[Cofiroute]]. It has won a bid for the development of a toll billing system from the German government. The development of the system started in September 2002. The technology is based on the [[Global Positioning System]], and a web application for booking truck routes in advance. Trucks are equipped with embedded systems called "On Board Units" (OBUs). OBUs are used for positioning, monitoring and billing. Additionally the OBUs have [[infrared]] interfaces for communicating with stationary control bridges on the motorways.
+The company was a consortium led by [[Daimler AG]], [[Deutsche Telekom]], and [[Cofiroute]] until 2018 when it was taken over by German Government. The consortium won a bid for the development of a toll billing system from the German government. The development of the system started in September 2002. The technology is based on the [[Global Positioning System]], and a web application for booking truck routes in advance. Trucks are equipped with embedded systems called "On Board Units" (OBUs). OBUs are used for positioning, monitoring and billing. Additionally, the OBUs have [[infrared]] and [[Dedicated short-range communications]] (DSRC) interfaces for exchanging data with stationary enforcement [[gantry (road sign)|gantries]] and mobile enforcement on the tolled road network.
-Since the end of 2002 several hundred engineers and programmers worked on the project. Articles report more than 1000 experts were involved in the project{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}. 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]]. The deadline was first shifted by 2 months, then by at least one year. There have been, and still are, considerable disputes between Toll Collect and the German government about damages to be paid by Toll Collect to the Government because of the long delay in the deployment of the system. There were also accusations that during the tender process for the system, non-German companies were not given fair consideration.
+Since the end of 2002 several hundred engineers and programmers worked on the project. Articles report more than 1000 experts were involved in the project{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}}. 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]]. The deadline was first shifted by 2 months, then by at least one year. Not until the German government purchased Toll Collect were the long-lasting disputes between Toll Collect and the German government about the payment of damages due to the long delay in the launching system resolved. There were also accusations that during the tendering procedure for the system, the offers made by non-German companies were not given fair consideration.
+The system was opened two years behind schedule on January 1, 2005. It was the first system in the world that deployed a national [[GNSS road pricing]] scheme. The charge per kilometre varies according to the number of axles and the vehicle's emission category, and is between 9 and 14 cents per kilometre. For a trip from Hamburg to Munich (776&nbsp;km) for example, the costs lie between €69.84 and €108.64. 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).
-The system was opened two years behind schedule on January 1, 2005.
-The charge per kilometre varies according to the number of axles and the vehicle's emission category and is between 9 and 14 cents per kilometre. This means, that the road tax for e.g. a Hamburg-Munich-trip (776 km) costs between €69.84 and €108.64. It is payable at [[toll booths]] if they do not have electronic units that permit automatic billing.
+In publications from December 2019, however, journalists attributed Toll Collect's whereabouts to the federal government to the contracts signed by Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer with industry representatives on the failed car toll in December 2018 and also critically assessed the role of the State Secretary and later Toll Collect boss Gerhard Schulz . According to this, the provision of parts of the Toll Collect infrastructure was probably already assured to Scheuer's contractual partners at the time before the bidding process for the Toll Collect privatization was officially ended in January 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-03 |title=Mission Toll Collect: Verkehrsminister Scheuer hat ein Mega-Problem |url=https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/politik-gesellschaft/pkw-maut-mission-toll-collect-verkehrsminister-andreas-scheuer-hat-ein-megaproblem-li.2974 |access-date=2023-06-05 |archive-date=2021-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203142512/https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/politik-gesellschaft/pkw-maut-mission-toll-collect-verkehrsminister-andreas-scheuer-hat-ein-megaproblem-li.2974 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>
 ==Technical background of the satellite based toll system==
+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 collected in the OBU are transferred to the [[data center]] by mobile data communication (GSM), and processed for billing. The fact that the system is "satellite based" relates to the positioning only, not to the communication of the OBU to the data center.
-Generally, for any truck on German motorways, toll has to be paid, depending on multiple parameters.
-The toll can be paid by different means. Firstly, a particular route can be pre-booked over the Internet. Secondly, the toll can be paid at terminals (often found in fuel stations). Thirdly, the preferred method is the fully automated billing using On-Board-Units (OBUs) deployed in the trucks, receiving [[Global Positioning System|GPS]] signals. When the truck is started, the OBU localises the vehicle by [[satellite navigation]]. Based on the position and the road data stored in the OBU, the device can determine independently the toll regulations for the particular route. The data collected in this manner are transferred to the [[data center]] by (land-based) mobile data communication, and processed for billing. Thus the terminology of the system being "satellite based" relates to the positioning only, not to subsequent communication.
-[[Image:Mautbr%C3%BCcke01_2009-04-13.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Camera bridge in Germany for toll compliance enforcement]] To prevent avoidance of toll payments (e.g. by switching off the OBUs), the trucks are being photographed at approx. 300 toll compliance camera bridges, and checked by approx. 450 mobile checking stations. The data generated from these compliance checks are compared in the central computing system, and enforcement measured being started. The non-compliance rate is published as being constantly less than 1 %.<ref>[https://fragdenstaat.de/anfrage/in-betreib-befindlichen-toll-collect-mautbrucken/ Anfrage nach dem Informationsfreiheitsgesetz] auf fragdenstaat.de</ref>
+[[Image:Mautbrücke01 2009-04-13.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Camera gantry in Germany for toll compliance enforcement]] To prevent avoidance of toll payments (e.g. by switching off the OBUs), the trucks are photographed at approximately 300 toll enforcement gantries, and checked by approximately 450 mobile checking stations. The data generated from these compliance checks are compared in the central computing system, and enforcement measured being started. The non-compliance rate is published as being constantly less than 1%.<ref>[https://fragdenstaat.de/anfrage/in-betreib-befindlichen-toll-collect-mautbrucken/ Anfrage nach dem Informationsfreiheitsgesetz] auf fragdenstaat.de</ref>
-Hopes to export the technology of this system to other countries did not come true, neither did considerations to expand the system to further services, such as fleet management.<ref name="handelsblatt-2013-48-6">{{Literatur | Autor= Daniel Delhaes | Titel= Völlig verfahrenes Verfahren | Sammelwerk= [[Handelsblatt]] | Band= | Nummer= 48 | Jahr= 2013 | Monat= 3 | Tag= 8./9./10 | Seiten= 6 | Online= | ISSN=0017-7296  }}</ref>
+Plans to export the specific German solution to other countries were not realized, but a number of GNSS-based tolling solutions were implemented in European countries for distance-based charging of trucks. Plans to expand the system to value-added services, such as fleet management, were not implemented.<ref name="handelsblatt-2013-48-6">{{citation|surname1=Daniel Delhaes|periodical=[[Handelsblatt]]|title=Völlig verfahrenes Verfahren |issue=48 |pages=6|issn=0017-7296|date=2013|language=German}}</ref>
 ==See also==
 *[[LKW-Maut]]
+==References==
+{{Reflist}}
 == External links ==
 * [http://www.toll-collect.de Official Website of Toll Collect] <!-- the project -->
+* [http://gupea.ub.gu.se/dspace/bitstream/2077/2327/1/inlaga_2003_13.pdf Road tolls: How will it affect the modal split?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724015121/http://gupea.ub.gu.se/dspace/bitstream/2077/2327/1/inlaga_2003_13.pdf |date=2011-07-24 }} Master thesis written by Carlos Braga and Magnus Källgren about Toll Collect and its possible results
-* [http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=561&fArticleId=2361019 article on opening]
-* [http://gupea.ub.gu.se/dspace/bitstream/2077/2327/1/inlaga_2003_13.pdf Road tolls: How will it affect the modal split?] Master thesis written by Carlos Braga and Magnus Källgren about Toll Collect and its possible results
+{{Authority control}}
 [[Category:Electronic toll collection]]
-[[Category:Radio-frequency identification]]
 [[Category:Wireless locating]]
+[[Category:Logistics companies of Germany]]

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	Germany