OGS (electronic Toll Collection)
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OGS (Otomatik Geçiş Sistemi; en, Automatic Pass System) was an electronic toll collection system of radio-frequency identification (RFID)
transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend word, blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a T ...
type available on
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 and
toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or ''toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road. ...
s in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. The system was adopted to avoid
traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...
at
toll plaza 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. The successor to OGS is the HGS system of
RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...
tag type implemented later on at the same toll plazas. It was launched in 1998, and was first installed on the
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge ("Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Bridge"), also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge (in Turkish: ''Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü'', ''F.S.M. Köprüsü'' or ''2. Köprü''), is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spannin ...
at over
Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern T ...
in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. The OGS was later extended to the intercity motorways , , , and and the other toll bridge
Bosphorus Bridge The Bosphorus Bridge ( tr, Boğaziçi Köprüsü), known officially as the 15 July Martyrs Bridge ( tr, 15 Temmuz Şehitler Köprüsü) and unofficially as the First Bridge ( tr, Birinci Köprü), is one of the three suspension bridges spannin ...
on over the Istanbul Strait. The system was administrated by the General Directorate of Highways ( tr, TC Karayolları Genel Müdürlüğü, KGM). OGS was retired on March 31, 2022 and HGS is now the sole way of electronic toll collection.


Tolling

The radio transponder, also known as a tag, was obtained from the office of the toll plazas, authorized major banks, mobile points of sales and on the internet as well, after signing an agreement. The tag was issued for a specific licence plate and so for a specific vehicle category. It could not be transferred without notice to the provider. The tags slightly differed in size and form depending on the provider, and could be replaced within the guarantee period, which varied from three to five years. Before using OGS, the tag's account had to be credited. The OGS system involved the fixing of the tag on the inside of the vehicle's windshield, mostly behind the rear-view mirror. However, on some car brands, the tag had to be attached on the inside base of the windshield. At the toll plaza, the vehicle had to drive to a toll booth on the OGS-only assigned lane. OGS lanes were always leftmost
passing lane A passing lane (North American English) or overtaking lane (English outside of North America) is a lane on a multi-lane highway or motorway closest to the median of the road (the central reservation). In some countries, lanes are described as bein ...
s, and they are designated at some distance before the toll plaza. However, there were also additional OGS booths on the right side of toll plazas dedicated to heavy vehicles. The booth was marked with an OGS-sign at the top. A flashing green light at the top signaled its usability. The battery-driven tag communicated with the reader device built into the toll collection equipment at the toll booth as the vehicle passes through. It was not required that the vehicle stop. However, a speed limit of was recommended to avoid accidents before the booth. Vehicles are classified for toll purposes in five categories based on the
wheelbase In both road and rail vehicles, the wheelbase is the horizontal distance between the centers of the front and rear wheels. For road vehicles with more than two axles (e.g. some trucks), the wheelbase is the distance between the steering (front ...
and the number of
axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...
s. If the number of axles of a vehicle is less than the maximum number of axles -because some axles of a truck are lifted up or a tractor is running without its trailer-, the integrated automated vehicle classification system changes the vehicle category read in to the actual one during the passage allowing a lower toll tariff. The bridge toll is fixed for each vehicle category, and is charged only once in eastward direction on the two bridges in Istanbul. The road toll is rated further depending on the distance driven between the entry and the exit of motorway for each vehicle category. For this reason, a signal has to be initiated on the OGS-lane by entering the motorway. OGS users benefit from 20% discount at all toll roads and bridges in Turkey. The tag could sound in two different modes: One
beep The Blocks Extensible Exchange Protocol (BEEP) is a framework for creating network application protocols. BEEP includes building blocks like framing, pipelining, multiplexing, reporting and authentication for connection and message-oriented pee ...
indicates that tolling was successful. Four consecutive beeps meant that there was insufficient credit on the tag's account. If the tag did not sound at the next three or four passes, it was most likely that either the tag is out of order or it was being used in an incorrect way. In this case, the tag had to be tested by the highway authority, since untolled passes more than ten times was absolutely not allowed.


Violation

In order to allow an uninterrupted passage, there are no gate arms at toll booths on OGS-lanes (except toll booths on Autobahn O-5). If the tolling process is not successful, a lamp under the electronic message display at the exit of the OGS booth turns yellow for a short time, and the display shows the message "''CEZALI GEÇİŞ, KAÇIŞ''" (Violation, escape) adding vehicle's category and the amount of fine. Further, the driver is warned by a loud electronic horn at the booth, and the vehicle is photographed as well for evidence. In the case of an unmatched vehicle category, the tag's account is charged with the actual category. However, the driver is warned by the booth horn, and the vehicle is photographed. The tag's account is charged with an additional fine of the amount of double the maximum toll for each violation. The vehicle is blacklisted when this type of violation occurs more than ten times. Vehicles on the blacklist or vehicles without a tag or with another vehicle's tag are charged with a fine as high as eleven times the toll amount. Vehicle owners or drivers can query information about their violation online or at a call center. Payment of the fine within 15 days following the violation notice's receipt enables 25% discount according to Turkish law.


See also

* KGS, smart card type electronic toll collecting system


References

{{coord missing, Turkey Electronic toll collection Toll roads in Turkey Toll bridges in Turkey 1998 establishments in Turkey