CASE STUDY FREE FLOW TOLLING M50 BARRIER-FREE TOLLING Dublin-Ireland
1.1. THE CHALLENGE The National Roads Authority initiated a major upgrading project of the motorway and junction capacity to address the major congestion problems on the M50 Motorway. The M50 motorway started out as a motorway bypass of the city of Dublin and is now the main traffic distributor around the city. In the early years, the M50 traffic was below expectations. However, by 2007 traffic levels had reached 90,000 vehicles per day - almost 3 times the predicted level. Despite the fact that the toll plaza had 7 lanes in each direction, major traffic congestions were frequent - queues of up to an hour were experienced in peak hours. This gave rise to major issues in terms of level of public service and therefore politics. After a tender period, the National Roads Authority contracted with BetEireFlow - an Irish company created by Sanef Group and Communication and Systems - to deliver the M50 Motorway upgrade. The parties contracted were in charge of the design, implementation, testing and trial before the go-live planned in June 2008. After this phase, the consortium would be in charge of the operations during 8 years. 1.2. A MOBILITY-DRIVEN SOLUTION: THE BARRIER- FREE TOLLING The new barrier-free system operates with overhead cameras and detectors at the barrier-free toll passage which automatically record electronic tags or vehicle number plates, so that drivers can pass through the toll point at normal driving speed. The transactions recorded are then processed by the toll collection system for registered and unregistered users. Registered users have the choice between video accounts and tag accounts, and unregistered users are identified via the License Plate Number of their vehicles. Registered users benefit from special toll schemes, whereas non registered users pay the full toll scheme. A range of account options are available to registered users, such as pre-payment or post-payment with a choice of payment methods such as direct debit, credit or debit card. Registered users are provided with statements or invoices by the payment and charging department. THE OBJECTIVES GIVEN TO THE CONSORTIUM WERE CLEAR: Reduce congestion by smoothing down traffic peaks, notoriously some of the largest in Western Europe, by encouraging registration. Manage costs effectively and skilfully. Reduce toll collection operating costs. Multiple payment options such as cash, cheques, and credit/debit cards were also available. In addition to these facilities, users have the possibility to pay through Interactive Voice Response, customer service centre (1890 50 10 50), website www.eflow.ie and the large number of retail outlets over the country. An enforcement system is in place for unregistered users who fail to pay their toll passages on time. Unpaid toll transactions generate violation notices after 24 hours which are printed and sent by post by a business partner. If the violation notices remain unpaid, a prosecution entity intervenes and takes care of further actions if necessary. 2 Case study : M50 Barrier-free tolling
1.3. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION: A TIGHT FRAMEWORK AND DEADLINE For political as well as practical reasons, it was imperative for the project to be launched before the end of August 2008. The project had already been announced to the public, and the traffic was reputedly less dense during the summer. Most importantly, the contract of the then M50 operating company ended in August 2008, and it was not conceivable to abandon tolling even for a short period. The consortium was responsible for the implementation and maintenance of the free flow road infrastructure and information systems as well as the operation of toll collection, customer care, payment and charging, and enforcement services. The time frame for implementing the project was about 18 months which is less than had been achieved elsewhere in the world on other barrier-free tolling systems. Several events occurred during both phases which could have considerably impacted the timeliness of the project had they not been tackled with pragmatism. During the design and construction phase which lasted more than one year, several key issues arose: The constraints of interoperability were that the Toll Collection System had to be compatible with other European tolling systems, such that it could not be in any way interfered with, or affected by, vehicles with tags issued in connection with tolling systems outside Ireland; and no tag issued by BetEireFlow could interfere or affect the collection system or other equipment of a tolling system outside Ireland. Besides technical issues concerning exchange of data between parties involved, interoperability would also have considerable impacts on the Customer Service Centre. One commitment: to put the customer first The pre-operation preparation or ramp-up phase which lasted from January 2008 to July 2008 also held some difficult issues: Through the customer care services it has deployed, BetEireFlow has managed to provide customised Toll products for each type of road users: occasional, regular, fleets. In order to have increased flexibility for scaling up and down, BetEireFlow decided to externalise the management of calls of regular customers. The fleet calls were to be managed internally. Data Protection Act raised the problem of anonymity during payments. Major adjustments to the business procedures and system had to be carried out to ensure anonymity of payments while guaranteeing accurate payment reconciliations. On the technical side, consequent resources had to be provided for tests of the road side equipment as well as system applications. Given the time constraints and the great number of interfaces with external systems, the project team had to overcome the challenging task of coordinating all parties for tests. Security was at the centre of all preoccupations given the nature of data that had to be handled. It was important to provide a system in which consumers, the National Roads Authority and business partners could place their trust. There were many security criteria to respect with each interface set up and several measures had to be taken to ensure compliance with ISO 27001 security norms. Customer Care Centre Multichannel care service: 1890 50 10 50 www.eflow.ie Case study : M50 Barrier-free tolling 3
BetEireFlow showed remarkable accuracy in sizing the customer service centre considering the complexity of the task. Sizing implied predicting the nature of problems that could occur and the users reactions to them. The team had to ensure that all influent factors were considered before signing with the subcontractor. Payment and Charging: The fundamental change for customers with this project laid in the way they actually paid the tolls - the shift was from immediate payment at toll plazas to various other payment points and times. It was important that the users felt the benefits of the change, and above all fully trusted the transparent payment mechanisms. The major outcome of this process was to encourage rapid payments and to have maximum reconciliations between transactions, payments and accounts. This meant reducing the need to resort to the next costly and unpleasant stage, enforcement. The main challenge of the enforcement process was to ensure that cases transferred to the prosecution entity were founded. Setting up a structure for enforcement involved:. BetEireFlow enforcement team who issued violation notices following unpaid toll transactions and then transferred the case to the prosecution entity when the notices remain unpaid. The prosecution entity comprised of solicitors who dealt with unpaid violation notices based on evidence packs compiled by the enforcement team. A specialised company which managed unpaid toll transactions linked to foreign vehicles. 1.4. THE BENEFITS OF BARRIER- FREE TOLLING A barrier-free or free flow system would lead to increased efficiency. The absence of barriers implied increased capacity, reduced plaza delays, and faster journeys. The system would also make it possible to reap the economic and environmental benefits in the shape of reduced land take and pollution, and air quality improvement. Shots taken of the toll plaza before and after the implementation of free flow are evocative of the benefits derived. Before free-flow After free-flow Launched on time and within budget Ecofriendly solution Efficient Commercial success Political success for the NRA 4 Case study : M50 Barrier-free tolling
1.5. ABOUT BETEIREFLOW AND SANEF The BetEireFlow consortium has been awarded an 8 year based contract of 113 million euros in 2007 by the National Roads Authority for the implementation of the free-flow road infrastructure on the M50 Motorway and the operation of free-flow services. BetEireFlow is an Irish based company which is held 80 percent by sanef groupe and 20 percent by Communication and Systems. According to the contract, Communication and Systems is in charge of providing the Information System and Road Side Equipment while sanef is responsible for operating the services. M50 road side equipment SANEF IS A LONG-TERM INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT GROUP AND A SERVICE OPERATOR. Its mission is to promote sustainable mobility of goods and people, innovate and deploy high-quality services and contribute to local growth by means of its networks and toll collection solutions. sanef is part of the abertis group, Europe's leading mobility and telecommunications infrastructure management operator. sanef is the leading motorway network within abertis. Its business model is based on quality management of its concession agreements focused on customer satisfaction - and a development strategy for new concessions and major toll projects, as well as interoperable ETC services. sanef directly operates 1743km of motorways and has further interests in motorway companies representing 280km of existing and future motorways in the North (A1, A2, A16), the East (A4, A26) of France and Normandy (A13, A14, A29) through its subsidiary Société des Autoroutes Paris-Normandie. www.sanef.com Case study : M50 Barrier-free tolling 5