Video tolling

Video tolling (sometimes referred to as video billing) is a form of electronic toll collection, which 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 allow drivers without an RFID device (often referred to as a "Tag") to use the toll road.

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 firsts register 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.

The first video tolling system in North America was the Highway 407 in the Greater Toronto Area. The 407 ETR system has struggled somewhat with accuracy and customer service issues, and recently settled a lawsuit related to potential incorrect charges on the system.[1] Video Tolling systems are also being evaluated in the US, and TxDOT may have quietly deployed the first "Video Only" system on SH 121 in Dallas [2], but not without some controversy [3] [4].

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Wikipedia