The Oregon Department of Transportation has issued a Request for Proposal to help the agency research open system tolling.
The 2017 Oregon Legislature directed the Oregon DOT to relieve congestion and generate revenue through implementation of value pricing (“tolling”) on Interstate 5 and 205 in the Portland Metro area.
“Oregon is entering the tolling conversation at a time when people and infrastructure are becoming increasingly connected to vehicles,” says Oregon DOT Chief Innovation Officer Eryca Dinsdale.
Oregon DOT is interested in researching an open toll system that would allow several connected car companies to bundle tolling with other services — like by the mile insurance, road assistance, parking, engine diagnostics and more.
“The end vision is that drivers can use technology that they already have in their vehicles, or want to put in their vehicles, to pay a toll,” Dinsdale says. “We’re aiming for a tolling system that can accept data and money from several different private sector partners.”
To that end, Oregon DOT is looking for a consultant to research how an open tolling system would work, and compare costs, risks, and implementation timelines against a conventional tolling system.
A Request for Proposal opened Dec. 21, 2017, and runs through Jan. 19, 2018, and can be found on the Oregon Procurement Information Network, or ORPIN, under reference number 730-33151-17.
Learn more about Oregon DOT’s Office of Innovation on its website.
