Installing CEN-278 compliant electronic tolling systems in Australia : an integrators viewpoint.

Over the last few years we have witnessed the introduction of CEN 278 compliant Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) Electronic Tolling systems used for electronic fee collection in Australia. The operation the first open road electronic tolling system was on the Melbourne City Link (MCL) in 1999, which adopted the CEN278 DSRC standard for transponders. A decision by the Australian Transport Council (ATC) to adopt the European CEN standard throughout Australia was designed to ensure that the interoperability issue would not plague Australia. Based on the current rate of progress, all existing major toll ways in Australia should be fitted with CEN 278 compliant DSRC 5.8 GHz ETC tolling systems by early 2002. It was also decided that all motorways in Sydney should install systems that recognized CEN278 compliant transponders, and that all systems should be interoperable with each other as well as with MCL. The stage was set for the entry into a cashless tolling era in Sydney. The ETC specifications issued for projects, required CEN 278 compliance and interoperability with MCL. It was during the tendering process that the existence of two different CEN compliant transaction sequences relating to the application layer of the communication link became apparent. The solution adopted was to develop an Australian standard that allowed for both transaction sequences. Several of these projects have now been completed, and with one exception, technical problems associated with the DSRC link have contributed to the late deployment of these systems. The implementation of this dual protocol has caused some frustration, and increased costs to integrators and owners alike. Over the next decade, several major and more complex ETC projects are planned for Sydney, and it is appropriate to take stock of the current situation, speculate on possible future trends in technology, and most importantly, how to avoid the replication of some of the acknowledged shortcomings of the current systems, particularly in relation to the application of dual protocol DSRC technology to open road tolling.