Austrian ITS company Kapsch TrafficCom has been commissioned to modernize Switzerland’s truck toll collection system by the country’s Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics (FOBL) and the Federal Customs Administration (FCA).
The project involves the selective modernization of the country’s roadside and central truck tolling system components and collection infrastructure, as well as expanded functionality to create interoperability with the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS). Kapsch will also be responsible for maintenance and system operation until the end of 2020, renewable annually until the end of 2024. The total value of the order is slightly above US$23.3m (EUR20m). The contract will see Kapsch update and upgrade Switzerland’s border barrier systems, control systems, control vehicles, and the main tolling data centers and back-office systems, with the latest technology.
An important part of the order with the Federal Customs Administration is to establish interoperability with the EETS system, which aims to enable road users to easily pay tolls throughout the entire European Union road network with only one subscription contract with one service provider and a single on-board unit (OBU). It is expected that as of the start of 2020, this will make it possible to fully automatically capture and bill the distance-related heavy vehicle fee (HVF) with vehicle equipment from external toll service providers in Switzerland as well. For trucks that are liable to pay duties, this will eliminate the manual HVF declaration for freight delivery operators from foreign countries at the Swiss border. This situation will facilitate the handling process for freight transport companies and reduce transaction times when traveling into or out of Switzerland.
The modernization of the existing roadside HVF systems and their expansion with EETS functions will be performed during continuous operations without noteworthy service interruptions until the end of 2019. The planning and logistical project management is being handled with a corresponding amount of diligence and lack of impact on the existing system. As an experienced general contractor and in cooperation with its Swiss installation partners, Kapsch will deliver this project by the end of 2019 in line with the client’s complex specifications.
The HVF is a federal fee for trucks, with the amount payable dependent on the total weight, emission class, and the distance driven in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. It applies to all motor vehicles and their trailers that have a permitted total weight of more than 3.5 metric tons, that are used for the transport of goods, and drive on public roads.
Thomas Reznicek, Kapsch’s area manager for Austria and Switzerland, commented, “We see it as an enormous vote of confidence in our performance capacity that the Federal Customs Administration as a system operator has decided to work with us on this challenging project.”
