An Evaluation of Different Functional Solutions for Satellite-Based Tolling in Europe

The aim of our research is to provide a better understanding of the technical differences between the functional solutions for satellite-based tolling in Europe. In addition our research is aimed at evaluating the processing requirements and communication load among three tolling entities, namely: the European Electronic Toll Service, a Toll Charger and On-Board Equipment. Three functional solutions defined in the EG9 report are empirically evaluated based on the data collected from numerous simulations. The results supplement the assessment criteria used by EG9 with performance analysis and technical restrictions that should be considered when implementing either one of the proposed functional solutions. The performance analysis findings indicate that the configurable intelligent client is the most promising solution, followed by the Charge Thin Client. However some bottlenecks were identified that would require optimization for real-world implementation.