Transforming highways with an intelligent tolling system

As a large state-owned enterprise of strategic importance for the national economy, NTPS contributes to the development of Hungarian transport system and the country's economic performance with innovative solutions. 

In 2013, it became one of the first in Europe to introduce an electronic, distance-based toll system (DTS) on a dedicated section of the Hungarian public road network – motorways, highways and main roads – which now covers more than 7,000 kilometers. The introduction of the e-vignette and e-toll system was a major step forward, using some of the most advanced technology in toll monitoring of its time in Hungary.

However, with technology changing rapidly, after eleven years the toll monitoring system had reached the limits of its upgradeability, and its life cycle was coming to an end. 

The system deployed in 2013 used a variety of roadside sensing technologies, including radar and laser, alongside network cameras to capture vehicle images and generate the data packets required for toll processing. While this reflected best-practice technology at the time, the multi-component architecture increased operational complexity and made maintenance and future development costly and difficult to scale.

"For example, the laser scanners had to be recalibrated after cleaning, which required significantly more manual work," says István Veres, Director of Toll Monitoring at NTPS. "Moreover, in eleven years, traffic and the toll road network have grown, and the functionality required for toll monitoring has changed significantly. The technical and development constraints of the 2013 system and the need for more accurate monitoring of vehicles on the road network and more efficient data processing required the introduction of a new, modern technology."

The installation consists of more than 1,250 network cameras along the designated sections of the Hungarian toll road network exceeding 7,000 kilometers. 

"Our modern infrastructure meets all our expectations," says István Veres. By combining Axis superior video performance with Asura’s advanced AI analytics, NTPS gains a unified, scalable tolling architecture

 "Our high-quality data packets, generated by accurate identification and categorization of vehicles, significantly increase the effectiveness of toll monitoring. By using the system, we expect that the willingness to pay tolls will increase, and thus the calculated toll revenue results will be achieved at a higher level. The positive effects of the modernization also support the work of the partner organizations designated to use NTPS data, and the intelligent video analytics capabilities will pave the way for future developments in toll monitoring, data-driven services and the introduction of new control methodology solutions." says István Veres.