Customer Portal of the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) System for 12+ tonnes HGV Owners opened on 5 October 2015 at www.platon.ru. In the first 24 hours after it went live, more than 1000 hauliers have registered in the system. An HGV owner from Krasnodar Territory in the south of Russia was the first private individual to go through the Customer Portal registration, and the first company to do so was a transport firm from the town of Novotersky in Stavropol Territory.
Alexander Sovetnikov, Director General of RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC, says: “The option to register via our Customer Portal is there for convenience of HGV Owners. This service is available both in English and in Russian. At the moment all that HGV Owners must do is enter a few details about themselves and their vehicles, attach an electronic copy of a Vehicle Registration Certificate, undergo a data check and that’s it – after that an Owner will be able to add more vehicles at the Customer Portal, send enquiries to the ETC Operator, top-up the account balance, buy Toll Tickets, see their vehicles’ routes – all these features are available online or via a mobile application”.
HGV Owners and their Vehicles are added to the Register free of charge. The ETC Operator maintains a System Register – a structured database of all ETC users which helps to streamline the toll collection process.
BACKGROUND INFO
The Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system, aimed to offset the damage caused to Russian Federal Highways by vehicles exceeding 12 tonnes of gross vehicle weight, is introduced in Russia on 15 November 2015 by the Federal Act On Roads and Road Management in the Russian Federation (No 257-FZ of 8 November 2007). On 29 September, in accordance with Russian Government Directive No 1662-r of 29 August 2014, the Federal Road Agency and RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC entered into the ETC concession agreement. Under this agreement, RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC oversees the Electronic Toll Collection System, which is called PLATON. The System will allow to facilitate collection of toll charges for vehicles exceeding 12 tonnes of gross vehicle weight, offsetting the damage that such vehicles cause to the surface of Federal Highways. As a HGV moves, the System will only charge the Owner for the mileage travelled on Federal Highways.
According to the Russian Federal Road Agency, 56% of damage to Federal Highways is caused by 12+ tonnes HGVs. To put things into perspective: as of 2010, there were 39 mln registered motor vehicles in Russia (including cars, buses and HGVs). Of these, only 1.5 mln, i.e. less than 4%, are 12+ tonnes HGVs, but their number keeps growing. The ETC System offers two ways of payment: by purchasing a Toll Ticket or by installing an On-Board Unit.
In order to pay, 12+ tonnes HGV Owners must register their vehicles in the PLATON system and submit the necessary documents to a Toll Service Office or at platon.ru
From 15 November 2015, HGV Owners can add funds to their accounts opened in the ETC System at the time of vehicle registration. The charges are payable in advance and the total amount due is calculated on the actual HGV mileage basis. The money will go to the Russian Federal Road Fund and will be used to fund road maintenance and repairs. At the moment the toll is set by the Russian Government at 3.73 Russian Roubles per vehicle per kilometre.
