This article describes the on-going development of a road pricing system in the Netherlands which may lead to a new European standard. From 2008 users of the Westerschelde Tunnel in the south-western Netherlands will access tolling and added services without cash, using the TIPS road pricing and mobility transaction back office system from manufacturer Logica through service provider Movenience. The back office system was first developed in 2005 with the aim of a universal kernel providing a choice of services and the option of adding further services, and is scalable to the needs of the client. It was designed to be open to any foreseeable standard and also to work with the concept of the European Electronic Tolling Service, where there is no standard tolling interface. This fits the requirement in the Netherlands for restricted operating costs, and does not increase the driver workload with unfamiliar equipment.
Samenvatting