New High-Tech Toll-Collection System May Be Ticket to Faster Bridge Traffic

Picture a commuter driving across the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge during evening rush hour. As the toll plaza zooms into view, with the collector’s palm expectantly outstretched, the motorist begins a frantic, one-handed search for any loose change that may have slipped into the depths of the cassette holder or the crevice of the passenger seat.

This last-minute grope for toll fees--a hazardous exercise that slows down traffic--is a familiar scenario to many drivers, and one that the state Department of Transportation wants to remedy.

The Coronado Bridge has become the site of a pilot program for an electronic toll collection system that would eliminate most cash transactions and instead bill motorists at the end of the month.

Caltrans is touting the system as the first of its kind in the world. If it shows promise in San Diego, officials say they will implement the space-age technique at other toll bridges throughout California.

‘Very Little Negative Reaction’

“Although the concept of automatic vehicle identification is not new--it’s been around for 25 years back East--nobody has yet developed a good, reliable system and put it into full revenue service,” said Gerry Meis, chief of the state’s Office of Toll Bridge and Commute Management. “Before we open this up to all of the public, we wanted to do some controlled testing. So far, we’ve had very little negative reaction.”

Designed to provide a cheaper, more convenient way for people to pay tolls, the radio-signal system operates on the theory that a Mercedes-Benz 300E is really nothing more than a can of peas. Similar to a modern grocery store checkout scanner, the electronic system deployed by Caltrans is capable of reading a car’s identity from a coded card placed in the windshield.

The high-tech machine keeps a tally of how many times the marked car passes through each month and then spits out a bill that is mailed to the vehicle owner’s home.

“In all seven lanes we have what we call a transmitter or a reader,” Meis said. “It sends out a radio signal that is bounced off a mirrored tag in the vehicle, reflected back to the reader, and data is encoded in a backup computer.”

The vehicle tags, which are about the size of a credit card, can be scanned through even the grimiest of windshields, Meis said. The only barrier that would prevent the signal from being read accurately would be a piece of metal placed in front of the tag.

Positioned on Pedestal

The transmitter, which Caltrans has dubbed the Automatic Vehicle Indicator, or AVI, is positioned on a pedestal in front of each booth at the toll plaza. A motorist need only slow down his vehicle long enough for a light to flash from red to green, giving the go-ahead, Meis said.

Expected to Reduce Jams

In addition to cutting labor costs, the system is expected to reduce traffic jams often caused by drivers hunting for change.

“Just the job of collecting tolls is an expensive one,” said Jim Drago, chief of public information for Caltrans in Sacramento. “You’ve got collectors and their time, so if you can speed that up and if you can reduce some of the work involved, that’s a cost benefit for everyone in the motoring public.

“It makes it easier for drivers,” he said. “No more fishing for quarters or dollars. Your car is electronically registered, then you get a monthly bill.”

In addition to the monthly billing option, there are two other modes of payment under the program. A motorist can pre-purchase a $12 account--good for 20 trips across the bridge--and save 40 cents a trip. Motorists may also give Caltrans the authority to bill their Mastercard or Visa.

1,000 People Participating

About 1,000 people are participating voluntarily in the six-month program, which began during the last week of October. Earlier this year, toll collectors handed out business reply post cards explaining the system and asking interested motorists to answer questions on the card. Caltrans chose volunteers from the first 1,000 post cards they received.

During this test period, human toll collectors will be on duty to handle the thousands of commuters not enrolled in the program, as well as potential violators of the system.

“In its ultimate configuration we say collectors will not be necessary,” Meis said. “But, we still have collectors in all lanes and we suspect it will be that way for a while.”

The Coronado Bridge was chosen as the model mainly as a cost-effective measure, Meis said.

“Science Applications International put the system together for us--they tied it in with all our toll collection equipment--and since they’re located in San Diego, we got a better price because they’re working out of their own back yard, so to speak,” Meis said.

Strategies to Enforce Program

Aside from assessing how well this system works and whether it should be implemented elsewhere in the state, Caltrans is examining strategies to enforce the program. They are considering installing a video camera at the toll plaza that would record license plate numbers and take clear pictures of violators.

“Theoretically, if you wanted to just gun it and go through, you physically can get out of the toll booth,” Drago said. “But there are systems in place where if you do go through without paying, a bell goes off. . . . It’s not some quiet little thing.”

To date, there have been no incidents of motorists abusing the electronic toll system, Drago said.

If the San Diego project proves successful, Caltrans officials said they would next test it on some of the nine toll bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area.