Prague, 28 February 2019 – CzechToll completed the first round of key technology tests for the new electronic toll system 150 days after signing the contract with the Ministry of Transport. This should be launched on 1 December 2019, according to the current schedule of the Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic. The success rate of detecting a new on-board unit in the defined toll sections already reached 99.75% with the first round of tests. At the same time, today during inspection day CzechToll introduced a prototype of the mobile enforcement technical solution for the Customs Administration at the Ministry of Transport.
The tests of the digital geomodel stored in the new on-board units took place from mid-January to 17 February 2019. During this period, the prototype of the mobile enforcement vehicle drove 5,750 km on Czech roads. The accuracy of the geomodel and the functionality of the new on-board unit were verified on a total of 2,155 toll sections, representing 99.26% of all toll sections where the collection will be implemented as of 1 December 2019. The remaining toll sections are located on roads that are under construction and were not accessible during the tests.
The production of new on-board units developed and manufactured in the Czech Republic was also carried out as well. The manufacture of a total of 450,000 units will be completed by mid-September this year.
“If I compare the development of the new toll system to building a house, we now have a well-built gross structure. In addition to completing several parts of the project, it is an important task for us to persuade hauliers to spend their time changing their contracts and exchanging on-board units throughout October and November. Above all, it will be up to hauliers whether we will repeat the long lines at borders and petrol stations, which we experienced in connection with the introduction of toll collection at the beginning of 2007,” said Matej Okáli, the CEO of CzechToll.
Technical solution prototype of a mobile enforcement vehicle
At the same time, CzechToll today presented a prototype of a new mobile enforcement vehicle before the building of the Ministry of Transport. 40 new toll enforcement vehicles will be handed over by CzechToll within the delivery of the new electronic toll system in the last quarter of this year.
At first glance, the Volkswagen Transporter cars are similar to those used by the Customs Administration for toll enforcement today, approaching the end of their lifespan. The new vehicles will contain cutting-edge technologies to help the government better control whether hauliers are meeting their obligations in terms of toll payment.
“The new vehicles to be handed over to the Customs Administration will be equipped with a safe, a passenger monitor and different interior arrangement. At the moment it is important for us to test and fine-tune all the technologies in the vehicle so that they work 100 percent,” added Matej Okáli.
