Contents - AL-Tax

126 9 Sale of Assets with Embedded Intellectual PropertyUnited States and FasTrak on the West Coast) have been in place in certain locationsfor many years, 1 and continue to be installed in new locations.Simply put, the ETC system automatically collects tolls by establishing a wirelesscommunication between an electronic roadside device (an antenna) installed ina tollgate and a vehicle unit (a transponder). The motorist’s identification numberis read from the transponder by the antenna and fed into a computer that debits thevehicle owner’s prepaid account. The ETC system also identifies toll violators. ETCsoftware, equipment and infrastructure consist of: Automatic vehicle identification (AVI) technology that determines the ownershipof the vehicle (by means of the aforementioned wireless communicationbetween an antenna installed in the tollgate and connected to a computer andvehicle-mounted transponders). ETC systems generally utilize dedicated shortrange communications (DSRC) radio frequency to effect the wireless communication. Automatic vehicle classification (AVC) technology that permits toll authoritiesto levy differential tolls on different types of vehicles. Lower-end systems relyon information stored in customer records to make this determination. However,inasmuch as some motorists periodically tow a trailer or a boat, for example,or may affix the ETC tag to different vehicles as needed, such a system will notalways be accurate. More sophisticated systems use advanced inductive loop sensorsembedded in the road surface that can determine vehicle length and numberof axles, and light-curtain laser profilers to record the shape of the vehicle. Transaction processing hardware and software that permits operators to maintaincustomer accounts, post toll transactions, handle customer inquiries and send outnotices of violation. (Certain firms, such as VESystems, sell or license an ETCsoftware suite to tolling authorities, or provide customer service, violations processing,video billing, toll operations and program management on an outsourcedbasis.) Video enforcement systems (VES) that identify motorists seeking to evade tollsby passing through the ETC lanes. Inasmuch as these vehicles do not havetransponders, stored customer data do not exist. While traditional enforcementmethods, such as police patrols and physical barriers (e.g., a gate arm), continueto be used, many VES use digital cameras to collect a series of images thatenable violations processing personnel to identify the vehicle’s license plate and,in some instances, the motorist.Toll agencies generally purchase ETC equipment, infrastructure and software.However, the costs of these system components and assets, coupled with installationexpenses, can be prohibitively high in certain instances. By the same token, there arewell-documented benefits to ETC, among them congestion reduction, substantiallyincreased capacity and throughput, fuel savings, time savings, enhanced data collectionand better emission control. ETC’s high costs and substantial benefits, and toll1 The first ETC system in North America was installed on the Dallas North Tollway in 1989.