And innovative system for paying the toll through an application installed on the smartphone and the reading of the license plate without having to stop at the toll booth and without any additional cost. It will be enough to top up the digital wallet on the application and pass through the “yellow” lanes at the toll booth.
It is the experimental system that Autostrade per l’Italia is ready to launch on Naples Ring Road. A significant innovation that, not by chance, starts from Naples. But a novelty that also sparks controversy and for which a shower of appeals is already announced. As for Motorways and Ring Road have assured that the system is “complementary” to other electronic toll systems and is intended above all for those who still use cash or credit cards to pay the toll (thus creating slowdowns, queues and pollution) there are not a few who are protesting against the experiment.
Starting from trade associations such as Conftrasporto and Unatras, but above all the service providers of the transport service are rebelling. telepedaggio. The one to intervene is Aetis, the association that brings together the main service providers in Europe, which includes the Italian Telepass and UnipolTech. All accuse the system of “videotolling” used. But the crux of the problem can be understood from the Aetis note: «The direct management of this technology by Autostrade and Tangenziale, actually aims to restore an oligopoly system in the toll sector, which had instead seen a significant opening to competition in recent years».
The application
But let’s start from the beginning and from the presentation of the experiment that took place yesterday in the Giunta room of the Palazzo St. James. The system “Targa go” was launched by the heads of Autostrade and Tangenziale and the municipal administration of Naples. The project was illustrated by Massimo Iossa, head of TargaGo at Autostrade per l’Italia. In this first phase, the system is aimed at customers who own a vehicle with a class 2 Italian license plate, i.e. 2-axle vehicles: cars, vans, minibuses. Motorcycles and heavy vehicles are excluded. With TargaGo tolls can be paid with the digital wallet previously loaded with a credit, debit or prepaid card. The next step of the experimentation could allow a credit card to be associated with the app.
The app, developed by Autostrade per l’Italia, is being tested on the Naples ring road with the agreement of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. During the first testing phase, conducted under the supervision of the Federico II University of Naples, the system was managed by Autostrade per l’Italia. Luigi Massa, CEO of Tangenziale, is enthusiastic: «Once again the ring road becomes the protagonist of technological innovation. TargaGo constitutes the new sustainable solution complementary to other electronic payment methods that still require a stop and allows for speeding up transits by eliminating queues at the toll booth and therefore reducing emissions”. The mayor also Gaetano Manfredi, expresses joy for the novelty: «Once again Naples and its city highway are at the center of a technological experiment that sees the city as a laboratory for this application that will make the passages at the toll booths faster with a notable benefit also from the environmental point of view».
The controversies
As mentioned, however, there are numerous controversies. Conftrasporto-Confcomercio asks the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matthew Salvini to intervene because “the proposed video tolling system does not guarantee users the certainty of the detections, with the concrete possibility of triggering a series of uncontestable and in fact non-existent sanctions. Furthermore, it will be in operation on the lane already dedicated to the electronic toll service, impacting on a widespread and safe technology”. “Video tolling technology, already considered obsolete in several countries that have been using it for years, involves an average of 5% detection errors”, adds Unatras who also asks the ministry to “retrace its steps”. But the harshest attacks, as mentioned, come from Aetis. According to the European association of service providers, the service “does not comply with the European reference standards and does not appear to have been notified to the European Commission. The meaning of this initiative is not clear, given that a formal roundtable is underway at the MIT with all the operators to identify the best solutions for the use of videotolling”. But the key issue is competition: «It is the entry into operation of a new toll collection system managed directly by a motorway concessionaire».
The association announces that it will turn to the competent government institutions to “protect the interests of its members and motorists, as well as to guarantee some of the key principles of the European single market”. Meanwhile, the PD deputy Luca Pastorino has already announced a question on the subject to the ministry headed by Matthew Salvini.
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