The multilane electronic toll collection system in Thessaloniki: Evaluation of its first 6 months of operation

A multilane electronic toll collection system has been installed on a six-lane rural arterial 24 km South West the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. This prototype system is in operation since March ´94. This electronic system is an experimental pilot, implemented in Thessaloniki under the framework of the research project ADEPT (Automatic Debiting and Electronic Payment for Transport) in the EU DRIVE II ATT Programme. The main objective of this paper is to present the evaluation methodology and the results obtained during the first six months of the pilot operation. The evaluation methodology includes the overall operational (technical) and economic/financial analysis followed during the experimental period. In the operational evaluation, the technical performance and reliability issues were addressed and analysed. On the other hand, the concept of the economic/financial evaluation which is concerned about the social and financial result of the system in addition to the technical evaluation was presented. In the economic evaluation, the impacts of the electronic system on the users and nonusers are under study. This includes the analysis of travel speed, delay and travel time observations carried out both before and after the operation of the system. This evaluation methodology includes various parameters such as the cost of the equipment, depreciation, operational cost and other costs and on the other hand the cost of the toll infrastructure in the case of manual system, saving in travel time, delays and environmental pollution