Many Toll Roads have Service Roads on either sides to it. There can be many reasons to have a service road with opening to go on the main toll road namely: access to local towns, commuting between two small town without toll plazas, exsiting road being converted to a toll road etc.
A major revenue loss / leakage issue is the leakage of traffic from the service road to the toll road and back. Vehicles violate the rules of entering/exiting the toll road to save on paying the toll.
A typical pattern is as follows. Normally the service roads do not have toll booths on them. Taking advantage of this, the vehicles enter on the service road - then jump on to the main toll road - as the toll nears the end, jump back to the service road - go out from service road and the trip is free !
Service Road Traffic Tracking System (SRTT) is aimed towards plugging the revenue loss due to this violation, resulting in increased revenue and traffic on the main toll road.
The system is setup at each plaza on entry and exit booths. These terminal are connected to a central server. Each booth terminal has one / two cameras, fare display, integrated barrier control, receipt printer and other essential hardware.
At the entry booth the vehicle class (two wheeler, three wheeler, car, truck etc.), it registration no. is entered and its photgraph is taken with an integrated camera. This information is sent to the server.
The imge windows shows the image overlay (continuous filming)
of the traffic approacing the entry booth. (figure - 1)
Due to high traffic can the full number of the vehicle be entered ? (i.e. GJ 1 HG 857 or just 857) Depending on this entry the corresponding exit module is installed.
The Main
Features of SRTT
Data collection at entry plaza with image
Central data storage
Data
comparison while exiting
Single
/ Multiple image view option
Tolling
for tracked vehicles
'Ghost'
vehicle information
Plaza personel management
Traffic and Revenue accounting
Redressal Module
Computer generated as well as
manual ticket issue option
Designated exemption feature
Admionistration module
Depo Module for client services
Ideal for paid PARKING system also.
Data Entry Form at Entry Plaza
Basic Entry
The activity at the exit plaza is similar to that of the entry. Here as the vehicle no. and its class is entered, it is sent to the server. The server replies back if there is a match (this is done in real time).
(figure - 2)
As mentioned above, if the full entry is done at the entry plaza, the same has to be carried out at the exit to find a match.
This approach gives a perfect match in shorter time.
In case of a partical data entry (i.e. 857 only and no alphabetical prefix), there can be more than one matches.
Data Entry Form at Exit Plaza
(For no match found)
As a vehicle can enter the service road from any non plaza entrance, there is chance that when that vehicle information is entered at the exit plaza, there will be no corresponding entry data. In this case the system replies 'No Match Found'. (figure - 3).
All these type of cases are stord separately for future traffic pattern analysis - called 'entry not found'.
The case where a vehicle enters the service road through a toll booth but exits through a non booth opening, there will not a corresponding exit record. This kind of records are transferred to a separate table for future analysis - called 'exit not found'.
No Match Found while Exiting
(For match found)
In case of full data entry (i.e. GJ 1 HG 857), and a server replies a positive match, the details of the full trip is shown (figure - 4). Here the entry plaza, entry date, entry time and its photograph (taken at the entry) is shown. A transaction number is also issue to it.
If the full data entry is not carried out (entered data is 857 only), there can be many vehicles with the same suffix number of the same class. In this case insted if giving the first match from the database, the photographs of ALL the vehicles (of the same class) with the same number is shown. Now the toll collector decides the correct match or no match and proceeds further. (figure - 5)
Match Found while Exiting
When the correct match is found, the next step is to collect the toll and issue a receipt.
The options available are Computer Generated Receipt (CGR), Manual Mode Receipt (MMR). Certain categories of vehicles have to be exempted (police, amblulance, army, govt., toe trucks etc.). Tickets can be issued for exempted vehicles also.
The system calculates the tariff based on the class of the vehicle, the origin and the destination using the tariff configuration table. A receipt is printed and issued to the driver.
The corresponding entry is also generated in the database for accounting purpose.
Photographs of the matching vehicle no.
The receipt generated is as shown in the figure - 6. It contains the following
information:
- The issuing plaza name
- The transaction no.
- The entry plaza, entry date and entry time
- The exit plaza, exit date and exit time
- The Vehicle number and its class
- The tariff to be charged
In case of inability to issue a CGR, the collector can also issue a Manual
Toll tocket. Here each MMR will have a unique identifier no. This no.
has to be entered on the form for the reconcilation process.
Computer Generated Receipt
An extensive reporting tool is provided for traffic analysis and accounting purpose.
There are collection related reports for daily, monthly and various category wise toll collection. Also reports are generated for collectors cash process and declaration as well as shortage or access tolling.
The statistical reports offer traffic at various plaza, total matches found, exits not found, entries not found, segmentwise traffic and many more.
As certain reports require input filtering, the criteria forms are as shown in the figure - 7.
Various Reports Layouts generated by the system
The Tariff configuration is the most important parameter setting. This setup affect the revenue calculation.
The Toll amount is dependent on the charging methods used (single ticket, bulk tickets etc.), origin and destination of the trip and the class of the vehicle. After selecting these options the tariff amount is given. (figure - 9)
Also the Effective Date for this tariff is a very important input. In case of multiple tariff input for a given set of rate, the latest date values are used.
Provision is also made for different return fair if needed. i.e if the toll from place A to B is not the same for B to A, this application can handle it.
Reports are available for datewise tariff inserted.
Receipt for Exempted vehicles
