Taiwan has successfully exported its electronic toll collection (ETC) service to Thailand, helping to improve traffic flow on an expressway there, Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co (FETC) said yesterday.
The Taipei-based firm secured the contract to install its ETC system on expressways in Thailand through its subsidiary FETC International Thailand Co.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council on Tuesday gave the subsidiary’s artificial intelligence (AI)-based vehicle license recognition system the Overseas Taiwanese Business Excellence Award-Gold Award.
Photo courtesy of Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co
FETC International Thailand is the only smart transportation software developer to win the award.
The license recognition system functions adaptively in different weather conditions and can process images taken from a broad range of angles, FETC said in a statement.
Its plate recognition rate is 98.22 percent, it said.
The technology increased traffic flow on Thailand’s M9 expressway 1.8-fold, it said.
FETC International Thailand executive director Kenny Chen (陳聲鏗) said that it secured two contracts in Thailand.
One is to build and maintain the ETC system on the M6 and M81 expressways, and the other is to upgrade the manual toll collection system on the M9 expressway to a new M-Flow system, Chen said.
Since February 2022, more than 660,000 drivers in registered vehicles have paid tolls on the M9 using the M-Flow system, he said.
The average driving speed on the M9 had increased 180 percent, while traffic flow on each standard lane was up by 43 percent, easing congestion leading up to the toll booths, he said.
The M6 and M81 expressways are to be completed by next year and 2026 respectively, Chen said.
Twenty-two of 28 ETC gantries have been installed on the two expressways on schedule, he said, adding that the company is closely monitoring opportunities to build ETCs on other expressways in the nation.
Earlier this month, the Expressway Authority of Thailand invited FETC International Thailand to participate in the Fifth International Conference on Highway Engineering in Bangkok, making it the only Taiwanese company to participate in the conference.
The company was also invited to host a Smart Mobility seminar to share Taiwan’s experience in using the ETC system.
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