eToll is a

National Roads Authority The National Roads Authority (NRA) ( ga, An tÚdarás um Bóithre Náisiúnta) was a state body in Ireland, responsible for the national road network. The NRA was established as part of the Roads Act 1993 and commenced operations on 23 December ...

run interoperability system allowing cashless payment on all of Ireland's

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

s. Based on an RFID tag attached to the windscreen of a participating vehicle, it allows drivers to travel on the tolled sections of them M1, M4, M6, M7, M8 and M50 as well as the East Link, N25 Waterford bypass,

Dublin Port Tunnel The Dublin Tunnel (Irish: ''Tollán Bhaile Átha Cliath''), originally and still commonly known as the Port Tunnel, is a road traffic tunnel in Dublin, Ireland, that forms part of the M50 motorway. The twin tunnels form a two-lane dual carria ...

, and the Limerick (Shannon) Tunnel.

History

Prior to its introduction, some operators had their own incompatible schemes specific to their own road sections. Since introduction however, all 5 toll road operators issue interoperable eToll tags. Additionally, two private firms (who do not operate any toll roads) also issue and operate eToll tagging systems - of which one is subcontracted to provide branded tags for one operator, as well as their own. The NRA launched a fee and provider comparison website a
tagcompare.ie
for

Technology

The system operates using in-car 5.8 GHz RFID transponders, generally manufactured by

Kapsch The Kapsch Group, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, is an international corporation specializing in telematics, information technology and telecommunication. History and operations In September 1892, Johann Kapsch (1845–1921) founded a precisio ...

or CS Route.

Operations

The eToll platform is operated by Egis Projects, a French company with toll operations in 15 different countries. Where applicable, fees are charged to tag users at the same rate as cash prices for the same class of vehicle, and purchase/rent administrative fees for tags vary by tag issuer. Some tags also operate for other services, such as car parks, but this also varies by issuer. Since the M50 motorway moved to "barrier free" (cash-less) tolling, eToll tagging has represented one of two options to pay the

West-Link The West-Link ( ga, Droichead an Nascbhóthair Thiar) is a toll bridge (actually twin bridges) on the M50 motorway to the west of Dublin, Ireland, operated by Emovis (trading as eFlow) for Transport Infrastructure Ireland. History Plans wer ...

toll. (The other system being video registration or post-pay services). In 2007, the NRA awarded French consortium BetEire Flow the contract to construct and operate the barrier-free tolling system at the West-Link bridge, and the

eFlow eFlow is the tolling brand name of the M50 motorway tolling operation managed by Irish company Turas Mobility Services (a subsidiary of a French global organization called VINCI Concessions) on behalf of Transport Infrastructure Ireland. The ...

system was introduced on 30 August 2008. The BetEire Flow consortium comprises the French toll operator Sanef and CS, a French systems designer, supplier and integrator. eFlow uses overhead cameras and detectors to record motorists' electronic tags or vehicle number plates. The technology involves two sets of gantries over the motorway. The first gantry detects the vehicle, and the second has antennae and cameras to read the tags and number plates.

References

External links

eToll official website
Electronic toll collection Road transport in the Republic of Ireland {{Ireland-transport-stub