5.0 Toll Collection Equipment Technology

5.1.4 Recommended Guidelines

Automatic Coin Machine Design Issues:

• To minimize damage to the ACM and the user’s vehicle, the front lip of the ACM basket or hopper should not protrude into the travel lane;
• To maximize the percentage of coins or tokens tossed toward the basket and processed by the ACM, the circumference and height of the top of the basket should be specified to easily accommodate the majority of customers while adequately handling the remaining customers driving vehicles with height profiles significantly above or below the normal range;
• Visibility of the ACM must be prominent relative to other features on the toll island so the user can quickly identify the location of the ACM and begin maneuvering their vehicle as early as possible to be in good position to deposit coins or tokens into the basket;
• Provisions for a quick means of notifying customers when the correct toll has been deposited and counted as a valid deposit that is visible under all lighting conditions;
• If trucks are allowed to use the ACM lane, determination of whether a dual height ACM is warranted to make depositing coins or tokens by truck drivers essentially equivalent to a passenger car drivers. The increased height of the basket is expected to increase the percentage of coins or tokens tossed toward the basket by truck drivers that are processed by the ACM and reduce transaction time, thereby increasing vehicle throughput;
• Suitability of integrating a card reader into the ACM cabinet as an alternative means of payment.

Automatic Ticket Issuing Machine Design Issues:

• To minimize damage to the ATIM and the user’s vehicle, the front edges of the ATIM should not protrude into the travel lane.
• To minimize the difficulty in reaching and taking a ticket, the height of the ticket dispensing feature of the ATIM must be specified to easily accommodate the majority of customers while adequately handling the remaining customers driving vehicles with height profiles significantly above or below the normal range.
• Visibility of the ATIM must be prominent relative to other features on the toll island so the user can quickly identify the location of the ATIM and begin maneuvering their vehicle as early as possible to be in good position to easily reach and take a ticket,.
• If trucks are allowed to use the automatic lane, dual ATIMs, at the appropriate heights for passenger cars and truck, are warranted to assure both drivers can safely reach and take a ticket from the driver-side window. Dual ATIMS are expected to reduce the transaction time, thereby increasing vehicle throughput.

Automatic Coin Machine Guideline Development:

• The front lip of the ACM basket or hopper should be approximately coincident with the edge of the toll island and not protrude into the travel lane. While vehicles with extended mirrors pose the greatest damage risk, the natural inclination of passenger cars drivers to avoid getting to close to a raised island or curb will minimize basket and vehicle damage. Installation of the ACM based on this location will also assure the passage of a large maintenance vehicle does not result in damage to the ACM.
• The ACMs manufactured by current vendors locate the basket or hopper at approximately the same height from the bottom of the cabinet. The basket circumference tends to vary among the vendors and is limited by the cabinet dimensions and any supported features. A telephone survey of three well established ACM vendors resulted in the following findings: ASCOM/Trindel provides a basket height of 48 inches and a circumference of 47 inches, TransCore provides a basket height of 39 and a circumference of 46 inches, and InTrans provides a basket height of 39 inches and a circumference of 57 inches. Therefore, the recommended guideline should be based on the median top of basket height and the largest of the three circumferences.
• The ACM cabinet should be finished with a bright color (other than white to retain contrast with the attached basket material) that is distinctive of any other colors used in the toll lane. Because of the reflective property and visibility of white materials, the basket or hopper should be manufactured using white material. Although ACM cabinet lighting, some in the shape of arrows to highlight where the deposit needs to be made, has been used to provide greater visibility, the additional maintenance and energy costs relative to the effectiveness of ACM cabinet lights must be measured. This measurement is problematic and requires extensive field observation with and without the lighting.
• Consistent with the 71% of agencies responding to the survey who use ACMs with fare displays, the ACM cabinet should include an embedded display that shows, as a minimum, a fare paid message and preferably displays the remaining balance to be deposited so the user has immediate feedback when an invalid coin or token is deposited. This feedback is expected to reduce transaction times and throughput delays. The fare display should be installed directly above the coin basket so the user can simultaneously deposit coins or tokens while viewing the display for feedback on the deposit.
• Although convenient to truck drivers, dual height ACMs are not commonly used on U.S. toll road facilities. Reasons for the lack of dual height ACMs are the common exclusion of trucks from automatic lanes to avoid the additional costs incurred to implement a pre-classification system, automatic lanes are often too narrow for safe passage by trucks, the traffic volume of trucks does not warrant special equipment for convenience and a marginal increase in throughput performance, and an increase in capital and maintenance costs. Also, violation enforcement system cameras can be triggered for all vehicles and front license plate images can be subsequently purged when the lane controller confirms the toll paid corresponds to the vehicle post classification. For these reasons, dual height ACMs should not be implemented in automatic lanes unless daily truck volume through the lane exceeds 25%, a volume expected to put truck and passenger car generated revenue approximately on par.
• Since the likelihood of a user without a transponder not having adequate change increases when the toll exceeds one dollar, integrating a card reader into the ACM provides a viable means to pay the toll in an unattended lane. Alternative card types include credit cards, agency charge cards and smart cards. Agency charge cards and smart cards are preferable to a credit card because of bank fees (usually both a flat fee and a percentage of transaction fee), and the impracticality of obtaining a signature confirming the transaction. The primary types of card readers are swipe, insert, and proximity. The performance of a swipe card reader is susceptible to precipitation, requires the magnetic stripe to be properly positioned in the reader, may require multiple swipes for a successful read and requires the user to be positioned within arms length of the reader to swipe the card. An insert card reader requires the magnetic stripe to be properly positioned when inserted into the reader, may require multiple inserts for a successful read and requires the user to be positioned within arms length of the reader to insert the card. A proximity card reader requires the card to be properly positioned in front of the reader for a successful read and the user needs to be positioned reasonably close to the reader to properly present the card. A significant shortcoming when implementing a card reader at a toll facility that also provides electronic toll collection is the potential cannibalization of ETC transactions. An ETC discount or a surcharge on a card transaction can be used to minimize the loss of ETC transactions. Furthermore, based on the foregoing analysis, only a proximity card reader using an agency or smart card should be considered for integration into the ACM.

Automatic Ticket Issuing Machine Guideline Development:

• The front edge of the ATIM should be approximately coincident with the edge of the toll island and not protrude into the travel lane. However, since the ATIM is commonly mounted to the side of a tollbooth that may have one-foot side ledges, the potential for a small overhang into the lane is likely. While vehicles with extended mirrors pose the greatest damage risk, the natural inclination of passenger cars drivers to avoid getting to close to a raised island or curb is expected to minimize damage to the ATIM. A small overhang into the lane is not expected to result in a greater incident of damage due to the passage of large maintenance vehicles through the lane. Preferably, the front edge of the ATIM should be in the same vertical plane as the front face of the island curb or raised barrier.
• The current standard for eye height within a passenger car is 3.5 feet, although research has shown a reduction in the height of vehicles supporting a 1 meter (3.28 feet) eye height. For trucks, eye heights have been found to range from 71.5 inches to 112.5 with an average height of 93 inches.1 Assuming a comfortable arm height at approximately 6 inches lower, the height of the ticket dispensing component of the ATIM for passenger cars should be 3 feet from the toll lane pavement. Similarly, the height of the ticket dispensing component of the ATIM for trucks should be 7.25 feet from the toll lane pavement. This clearly shows the impractically of using a single height ATIM for both passenger cars and trucks.
• The ATIM enclosure should be finished with a bright color that is distinctive of any other colors used in the automatic lane. Although lighted arrows and other lighted objects have been used to highlight where the user needs to direct their attention to obtain a ticket, the additional maintenance and energy costs relative to the effectiveness of these enhancements must be measured. This measurement is problematic and requires extensive field observation with and without the arrows or other lighted objects., Alternatively, a fixed, static sign stating “Take Ticket” installed above the ATIM provides an inexpensive and effective means of conveying what is expected of the user.
• Dual height ATIMs installed at the heights suggested above are required if passenger cars and trucks are allowed to use the automatic lane. The majority of automatic lanes at existing closed ticket system facilities are restricted to passenger cars to maintain high throughput rates in these lanes and avoid the additional capital and maintenance costs associated with two (four when high availability and capacity are required) ATIMs. Also, agencies that classify and encode vehicle class on the ticket upon entry would need to install an automated pre-classification system to accommodate trucks. Automatic lanes are often too narrow for safe passage by trucks. Clearly, the operational policy of the agency regarding the use of attendants to issue tickets upon entry ultimately determines if dual height ATIMs can be treated as optional. Limiting entry plaza staffing to maintenance personnel to assure the ATIMs are stocked and operating properly is a viable option. Based on this analysis, if the entry plaza is staffed with attendants, automatic lanes should be restricted to passenger cars using either a single ATIM or a adding a second (i.e., redundant) ATIM, both installed at the same height.

ACM/ATIM Guidelines

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