The battle for electronic tolls begins

of Eleni Botas

The tender for the electronic tolls or otherwise for the tolls per kilometer starts, with the appointment of the Technical Consultant who will contribute to the tender and assignment process of the project.

Following the opening of the bids, the contract for the provision of technical consulting services was awarded to the company “Planet”, for the new large PPP project, with a total budget of 90 million euros (65 million euros will be covered by the funds of the Recovery Fund).

The new system will replace the existing toll billing and users will be charged according to the distance they travel. The completion of the project is expected at the end of 2025, where now the crossings on the Greek highways will be calculated based on the actual distance traveled by the vehicle, making the charges proportional.

The benefits of the new toll system – if we take into account the same system implemented by January 1, 2021 Olympia Odos – will ensure up to 76% lower charge to users, while ensuring “free flow” on the highway, ie travel without delays, where the vehicle is not required to stop for the toll transaction.

The system of electronic tolls applied on the road Elefsina – Corinth – Patras – is based on the logic of debit:

The vehicle equipped with a transceiver passes through the electronic lane of a front station and pays the price of the charging zone.

In case it leaves the highway before the end of the specific zone, the amount corresponding to the distance it has traveled is automatically credited to its transceiver.

The system uses sensors, cameras and intercom systems installed at the entrance and exit junctions of the highway, recognizing the vehicle at the entrance of the highway, charging its transceiver.

The difference of the system is that now at the exit, there are electronic devices that recognize the vehicle again and if it has not passed the full billing period, then the amount is immediately and automatically returned to the user’s account.

It should be noted that the previous tender for satellite tolls was canceled following a relevant decision of the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Costas Karamanlis and after the positive opinion of the Legal Council of the State (in favor of the cancellation of the tender).

The tender, with a total budget of 400 million euros, was canceled by the CoF, following an appeal by the winning consortium as it was judged that both bids did not meet all the requirements of the tender.