18 August 2015

RT-Invest Transport Systems Starts Pre-Registering Major Hauliers in Electronic Toll Collection Database

RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC is now pre-registering major corporate clients – who operate more that 300 HGVs of 12+ tonnes gross weight – with the PLATON Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) System in Russia. In order to register, HGV Owners must provide a Vehicle Registration Certificate, undergo a data check and get a login and a password for the web-based Customer Portal.

Major corporate clients will go through the registration procedure at the offices of the ETC Operator, RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC. There is an Operator’s office in every Russian Federal District:

• Central District office: 25 Leningradskaya Street, Khimki
• Northwestern District office: 3 Constitution Square, Saint Petersburg
• Southern District office: 5/9 1st Mayskaya Street, Rostov-on-Don
• Volga District office: 24 Novaya Street, Nizhny Novgorod
• Siberian District office: 83 1905 Goda Street, Novosibirsk
• Urals District office: 86 Belinskogo street, Yekaterinburg
• Far Eastern District office: 22a Postysheva Street, Khabarovsk

To streamline the process, every client will get a dedicated manager who will help to add the HGV data to the ETC Register.

For the rest of the ETC users the registration will start in September 2015, when RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC will open 96 additional customer service centres throughout Russia. By 15 October 2015, a month before the ETC launch and HGV toll introduction on Russian Federal Highways, there will be more than 130 offices in major cities and next to busy border crossings that will be helping ETC users 7 days a week from 9am to 8pm.

Alexander Sovetnikov, Director General of RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC, says: “The introduction of Toll Service Offices will allow HGV owners to prepare all the necessary documents and register in the PLATON system in advance. This is done to avoid queues on the ETC launch day and to make the registration as easy as possible. We will keep updating our customers on new Toll Service Offices openings”.

Toll Service Offices will:

1. Register Owners of 12+ tonnes HGVs;
2. Provide HGV Owners with account updates, including balances, payment history and other relevant information;
3. Allow HGV Owners to top-up their accounts and buy Toll Tickets;
4. Allow HGV Owners to amend data in the system (licence plates, address, contact info etc.);
5. Issue On-Board Units (OBUs);
6. Help Owners to install and use their OBUs;
7. Issue accountable receipts.

The ETC launch is scheduled for 15 November 2015.

Electronic Toll Collection system background

In accordance with Russian Government Directive No 1662-r of 29 August 2014 the Federal Road Agency and RT-Invest Transport Systems LLC (RTITS LLC or Concessionary) entered into an ETC concession agreement.

The project is a life cycle contract type, whereby the Concessionary uses its own and borrowed funds to create the ETC system, to operate and maintain it.

Once created, the ETC System will become public property. The Concessionary will have the right to possess and use the ETC until the end of the Concession Contract. After the ETC launch, the Concessor reimburses the Concessionary the costs of the System operational availability, covering the costs of running the System, interest on any loans and shareholder’s benefit payments.

All the monies collected from 12+ tonnes HGV Owners will go to the Road Fund of the Russian Federation, with Concessionary acting as a collection agent. The duration of the concession agreement is 13 years.

The project will have the following infrastructure:

• Control and Monitoring Centre with a Data Processing Centre;
• Toll Service Offices;
• Geoinformation system and Automatic Payment system;
• Mobile Patrols (at least 100 vehicles);
• 481 Overhead Gantries;
• Website;
• 24h Service Hotlines;
• 2 mln On-Board Units (OBUs).

ETC System basics:

• An HGV On-Board Unit tracks the Vehicle’s position via GLONASS/GPS. HGVs with no OBUs can still use the Federal Highways if their Owners pre-pay their trips by purchasing appropriate electronic Toll Tickets;
• HGV tracking data is sent to the Data Processing Centre via GSM/GPRS cellular networks;
• The Data Processing Centre calculates the route and distance travelled;
• Billing software calculates Toll amount for each HGV;
• The payment is taken automatically.

Payments are monitored by the payment control infrastructure:

• As an HGV passes underneath a stationary overhead gantry, an automatic check is made on either: a) the Owner’s account balance (if using an OBU) or b) Toll Ticket validity (if no OBU is equipped);
• Where no overhead gantries are installed, the Owner’s account balance or the Toll Ticket validity will be randomly checked by dedicated mobile patrols;

The ETC system clients can use:

• The ETC System website, where they can find the information on the ETC, a dedicated Customer Portal and a Toll Ticket purchase system;
• 24h Service Hotlines for consultations and support;
• Toll Service Offices for signing User Agreements, getting advice and support, making payments and renting OBUs.

Aim of the project

This project will help to achieve the goals set out in the Roads subprogramme of Russian Federal Transport System Action Programme for 2010-2020, will ease the pressure on public funds and will serve to further improve the state of Russian Federal Highways, if the monies collected would be used to finance timely road repairs and maintenance in addition to the Federal budget allowances for such planned measures.

Project timeline

The Concessionary will launch the System in November 2015. In the following 20 months it will be further expanded with additional overhead gantries and OBUs. The total ETC system creation timeframe is 3 years, including the expansion stage.

The total project implementation period is 13 years from the date of the Concession Agreement (29 September 2014).