Demonstrative Experiment on a Road Pricing System Making the Practical use of Infrared Beacons

Measures for subjecting vehicles to road pricing are under examination with the view of alleviating traffic congestion and enhancing the environment These measures are normally considered part of traffic demand management (TDM). As a means of subjecting vehicles to road pricing, the National Police Agency (NPA) of Japan is looking into methods of implementing a road pricing system through communication between the in-vehicle unit of a vehicle and roadside equipment, a system which makes the practical use of cameras, etc. By using optical communication as a communication medium, the NPA conducted a primary experiment in the field to confirm that the Advanced Mobile Information Systems (AMIS) unit communicates positively with infrared beacons installed on the roadside. Additionally, the experiment was to confirm whether or not the construction of an electronic road pricing system (ERP) is possible through the practical use of infrared beacons, which are one of the existing infrastructures. From this experiment, it was confirmed that the construction of an ERP system employing infrared beacons is technically possible. This paper reports the results of the Verification of the primary field experiment.