Lights, Camera, Action?

I am sure most of you have read or heard about the horror stories relating to toll violators—specifically, the high debt being accrued by toll agencies as a result of drivers who pass through electronic toll lanes without a transponder.

There is no question about the effectiveness of ETC in relieving congestion in and around tollbooths. On the other hand, questions have begun to arise regarding the effectiveness of catching electronic toll violators. What can be done to improve the effectiveness of ETC automated enforcement systems?

This and other questions relating to automated enforcement at tollbooths were presented to a group of toll industry experts who are certainly familiar with this very issue.

TM+E sought commentary from four different sources for this article.

First is Terry Cooke, senior toll facility director, Virginia DOT’s SmartTag program. Next is Robert Thiel, FasTrak project manager, Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District. Also included is Dave Kristik, director of operations, E-470 Public Highway Authority. And the final commentator is Greg Hulsizer, general manager, California Private Transportation Co., owners of the 91 Express Lanes.

It was the intention of TM+E to include perspective solely from toll authority sources because of the frequency with which they address the automated enforcement-related issues. Their responses are not based on each others’ comments, rather the subject matter was presented separately to Cooke, Thiel, Kristik and Hulsizer. Their comments are as follows:

Is automated enforcement effective in catching toll violators?

Terry Cooke: Yes, automation saves us in hard dollars. If we did not have our automated system, we would have to pay the Virginia State Police additional funds for toll enforcement. Before the legislation became effective, we paid for this service. We were only able to have them at certain times of the day and there was no guarantee how long they could stay once they were here because they would have to leave when an emergency would arise. With automation, the trooper does not have to go to court and testify. We have a time slot on a designated date each month and we send one staff member with our legal packages. She presents each package to the judge and there’s no question as to guilt. 

Robert Thiel: Yes, it is effective.

Dave Kristik: In E-470’s experience, automated enforcement has been very effective in catching toll evaders.  As proof, in the last 14 months, the violation enforcement system we have in place has paid for the investment E-470 made for the back office software put in place in April 2001.

Greg Hulsizer: Yes, not only is it effective in catching toll violators, successful enforcement can be a deterrent to potential violators.

Is there anything that can be done to improve the ETC automated enforcement systems?

Thiel: Improve interstate reciprocity. Currently, we do not receive payment for violators with non-California license plates.

Kristik: The most critical element is well-integrated camera operation and vehicle triggering. Many camera systems can accommodate all lighting conditions so the triggering methodology is vital to reliably capture the images of violators so the images can be enforced in court, if necessary.

Hulsizer: As camera technology improves, so will the ability to properly identify violators. Optical character recognition technology adds a greater level of automation to the identification process. Additionally, front-end interfaces have improved so that an operator can manipulate a photo to get the best resolution possible to properly identify a violator. Furthermore, state department of motor vehicle agencies can assist by keeping their databases current, thereby allowing tolling agencies to quickly ascertain vehicle ownership, thus more accurately determining the individual responsible for paying the toll.

Cooke: I am speaking for our system only, but yes there are two things that can be done to improve the system: stronger legislation—toll violation is just a civil issue in Virginia.

The code states that we issue citations to the owner of the vehicle.  After you take a person to court, he can immediately say he was not the driver, sign an affidavit to that effect, and we have to start all over again with whoever was driving and process citations to that person. When we do get the right person and they do not pay after court, we have to issue Warrants-In-Debt and go back to court. It is terribly time-consuming and labor-intensive.

The general public is not aware that toll violations mean you are actually breaking the law. Many times a patron will tell the judge he did not take running the toll seriously.

What are some of the latest issues surrounding automated enforcement of toll violators?

Kristik: Agency/authority interface with the state department of motor vehicle license plate and vehicular registration information and having enforceable legislation at the state level for toll evasion.

Hulsizer: The legislation for the collection of violations in many cases is weak, the ability to track outstanding violations is lacking and camera systems do not work well under certain environmental conditions. Transponder inventories are aging, resulting in “customer violations,” particularly where customers haven’t updated license plate records with the toll operator and/or where there is no interface between the VES/VPS system and the operator’s customer database.

Cooke: A big issue in our area is when the batteries in the Smart Tag transponders no longer work and the patron shows up on our system as a regular violator. Even though we manually search to see if that patron has a Smart Tag account, the account could be in a different name or just moved from one vehicle to another; there’s no way to be sure the violator just doesn’t have a good battery.  We always send a letter before sending citations to patrons. When it turns out to be the battery, we have wasted a lot of time and effort just to find that person should pay $.50 per transaction instead of $2.00 per transaction.

Thiel: In California, two issues come to mind. First, [the] state assembly bill under consideration to extend the 21-day violation notice period to 60 days; second, discussions about the timing of the processing fee charged by the department of motor vehicles for placing a registration hold on a vehicle.

What do you foresee on the horizon for automated enforcement of toll violators?

Hulsizer: Increased usage of OCR to effectively identify toll violators, more robust and dynamic software platforms to effectively track violators and better camera systems that can mitigate environmental issues.

Cooke: In Virginia, I foresee the centralization of toll enforcement and stronger legislation for toll violators.

Kristik: More effective toll enforcement systems and increased awareness in the effectiveness of toll enforcement equipment.

If a toll authority does not have automated enforcement capabilities, would you recommend this technology to them?

Cooke: Definitely, the cost of labor alone is the major factor. There is no comparison of the costs of paying the state police for their ticketing and court time versus having a small staff process the images, send letters and go to court once monthly. We are essentially cutting out the middleman by using automation, and the pictures are not even challenged in court, as would be the trooper.

Thiel: Yes, it helps traffic flow and reduces staff time required to process violations.

Kristik: Without question. Although expensive, if business rules supported rigorous enforcement of toll evasion, the costs to procure and install would be replaced many fold.

Hulsizer: Toll authorities must have some capability to automatically enforce the proper use of the toll facility. As traffic continues to grow, the ability of manual enforcement—spotters, highway patrol, barriers—to effectively provide enforcement becomes increasingly problematic. Motorists will progressively demand a free-flow traffic solution. The only way to provide this capability is through the use of an automated system.     TME