The European GNSS Agency (GSA) releases its “GNSS Adoption for Road User Charging in Europe” report, highlighting the benefits of European GNSS (EGNSS) in RUC, providing an in-depth look at how it works and sharing success stories of its implementation across the EU.

Thanks to its flexibility, EGNSS is becoming the preferred solution for electronic toll collection in the EU. With EGNSS-based tolling, users can be charged based on different criteria, such as type of road and vehicle, time, distance and level of emissions – all of which can be easily adapted to the rapidly evolving needs of the sector and in a cost-effective manner. Other benefits of GNSS technology in complex networks include low transaction costs, a minimal environmental impact and the possibility of generating additional revenue from the provision of value added services.

To highlight the benefits of EGNSS in Road User Charging (RUC) – along with providing an in-depth look at how it works and at the many success stories of its implementation in various EU Member States – the GSA has published a new booklet on the topic. GNSS Adoption for Road User Charging in Europe provides readers with an accessible, visually-appealing tour through the various aspects of GNSS as they apply to RUC, with a specific focus on the role of EGNOS and Galileo. 
According to the booklet, EGNSS provides substantial advantages over other systems. For example, the Galileo programme offers improved location accuracy and reduced positioning time as a result of its being part of a multi-constellation scheme. In addition, Galileo's unique authentication and data encryption services increase signal reliability and thwarts attempts to spoof the signal.

The booklet is free of charge and can be downloaded here.

Covering More European Roads

While the RUC booklet looks to the future of GNSS in Road User Charging, Europe is already reaping the benefits of the Galileo and EGNOS programmes. As highlighted in the publication, three European Member States (Germany, Hungary and Slovakia) are already utilising EGNSS for electronic tolling of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV), while Belgium’s system is about to start operations in April 2016. More so, other countries (e.g. Bulgaria) are currently evaluating how to modernise their road taxation schemes – and EGNSS seems to be the most viable solution.

As a result of all these programmes, by April 2016, 58% of all the currently EETS-compliant tolled kilometres in the EU 28 will utilise a GNSS scheme.

2016 Road User Charging Conference

The GSA will officially launch GNSS Adoption for Road User Charging in Europe at the 2016 Road User Charging Conference, taking place in Brussels on 2 – 3 March. Here, the GSA will join leading European and international experts and authorities from the field of RUC to share global perspectives and highlight the importance of an international conversation on RUC applications and challenges. The GSA will be hosting a session on EGNSS Based Tolling Services starting at 10:50 am on 3 March.

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