The data collected from eTags — an electronic device used to pay toll fees on the nation’s freeways — has helped the freeway authority forecast the travel times and regulate traffic using more effective measures, according to the National Freeway Bureau.
The electronic toll collection system for all freeways was launched on Dec. 30, 2013.
There are 319 toll fee-collecting gantries on freeways and more than 8.9 billion transactions were recorded as of last month, Bureau Deputy Director-General Wu Mu-fu (吳木富) said.
Wu said that this data has helped the bureau map patterns of freeway users, adding that it can be further analyzed and calculated to enhance the efficiency of freeway traffic management and research for better techniques to regulate it.
By analyzing the routes of drivers, the bureau knows which freeway ramps should be closed when there is traffic congestion, Wu said, adding that the data can also help the bureau determine toll fees for the launch of the differential toll fee scheme. The scheme is to charge peak-hour toll fees on certain freeway sections, Wu said.
Based on the information collected, the bureau can also forecast traffic situations at a specific time, Wu said.
The bureau tried using the data to forecast the travel time between Taipei and Kaohsiung, as well as between Nangang (南港) and Suao (蘇澳), at different hours of day on some of the nation’s major holidays, including the Dragon Boat Festival, Moon Festival and Double Ten National Day, Wu said.
The proposed use of eTags, operated by Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co, to pay for parking fees, still needs to secure the approval of lawmakers, Wu said.
“Legislators fear the use of eTags for parking would lead to job losses for those tending parking lots, just as freeway toll fee collectors lost their jobs when the government launched the electronic toll collection system,” Wu said.
“They want us to study the business potential and the problems of producing invoices if people are able to pay their parking fees using eTags,” Wu added.
To allay lawmakers’ doubts, Wu said that allowing people to pay parking fees using eTags would not cause job losses, but only make toll collectors’ jobs easier, as staff could scan the bar code on the eTags, rather than having to key in license-plate numbers.
The company would also be able to provide invoices for transactions paid by eTag, Wu said.
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