New $15M automated tolling system being tested at Harbour Bridge

Soon there will be no more stopping to pay tolls, holding up traffic lines and adding to the congested traffic situation at the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB).

With an investment of between $10 to 15 million, the authorities will be testing a new automated tolling system come February 1.

According to the General Manager of the DHBC Wayne Watson, commuters will only need to pay their toll is a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tag on the front of their vehicle and their mobile phone.

“Users of the Harbour Bridge will be registered to a database and they will have funds in their mobile money account. The RIFD tag will go on the vehicle and when you approach the toll station, the system’s sensors will identify your vehicle using the tag and the toll will be deducted automatically,” Watson told the News Room on Thursday.

With the system, different tags will be created for different vehicles, whether cars, trucks or vans. The authorities are also considering implementing the system for vessels and for that to work, Watson said the sensors would need to be placed on the anchorage.

The General Manager was keen to note that the system already exists for senior government officials and even executives of the Harbour Bridge.

And while some may argue that the new tolling system is years too late, the General manager opined that the time was apt as the system will also be implemented on the new high span four-lane bridge which will soon be constructed.

“Now is the time for it to be tested because the technology is available…the idea was around for years since the Habour Bridge came into operation but it was never executed for some reason but better late than never,” he told the News Room.

The system was never implemented on such a wider scale until now and if all goes well during the pilot testing phase, by the second quarter of 2022, the automated system will be up and running.