One of the leading suppliers of fuel and service cards in Europe has introduced two new tolling onboard units (OBUs) that the trucking industry can use in multiple countries.
German company, Union Tank Eckstein (UTA) has released a new universal solution for several European toll systems with the Telepass EU unit. The OBU has been designed for Italy, but it can also be used in four other toll-countries for vehicles with more than 3.5 tons permitted total weight. The Telepass EU also eliminates the need for the VIAcard, with which the toll can be paid at all number barriers and highway exits in Italy. A special feature of the Telepass EU OBU is its ability to be used in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, as well as the Liefkenshoektunnel in Belgium. In addition to recording and billing toll charges, parking fees can also be settled via the device at various guarded truck parking lots in Italy and France. Several other national toll systems will be added to the OBU’s areas of service in the near future, with the toll on Poland’s A4 Katowice-Krakow highway currently in preparation.
“We are providing our customers with the opportunity to use an OBU in several toll systems with Telepass EU,” explained Kay Otte, marketing director at UTA. “This has several advantages. On one hand, drivers can reduce the number of toll boxes in their trucks and pass all toll stations without stopping. On the other hand, they can benefit from a discount of up to 50% over the cash price in some southwestern European countries.”
UTA has also released the new BroBizz Box (below), an OBU that can be used to pay tolls in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The box calculates and pays tolls for the use of roads, tunnels, bridges and ferries in Norway, as well as toll payments on certain bridges in Denmark and Sweden. This allows UTA customers to pay tolls at over 50 toll stations quickly and automatically as they drive past. From January 1, 2015, commercial vehicles in Norway weighing over 3.5 metric tons in total have been required to use an OBU for paying road tolls.
With the BroBizz Box, drivers can pass Norwegian toll stations more quickly and easily. Not only does the box guarantee the automatic calculation and payment of road tolls, it can also be used to pay charges for tunnels, bridges and ferry trips in Norway, and for bridges such as the Storebælt Bridge in Denmark, the Oresund Bridge linking Denmark and Sweden, or the Svinesund Bridge between Sweden and Norway. In Denmark and Sweden, vehicles weighing over 12 metric tons must still pay road tolls with the Eurovignette toll tag, which can also be booked through UTA. The OBU does not need to be permanently fixed to the vehicle as it is battery operated, allowing it to be switched from one vehicle to another. UTA customers using the BroBizz Box can enjoy discounts of up to 13% on the cash price in many locations.
