CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- To effectively relieve congestion on holidays, Chongqing has applied toll collection robots, model identification robots, remote systems for special situation handling, and other high-tech products to fully promote the construction of intelligent tollgates and expressway lanes, said the Chongqing Municipal Transportation Committee.

For example, the utilization of free flow tolling technology, intelligent expressway lanes, toll plazas and connecting channels, widened lanes, and the pre-transaction system that has passed third-party testing at the ministerial level have increased the speed of electronic toll collection (ETC) by 20% and the utilization rate of MTC self-service lanes by 35% in the Chongqing-Wulong section of the Baotou-Maoming Expressway G65. Additionally, the digital upgrading and transformation of pilot projects have significantly enhanced the intelligent management level of the Chongqing-Wulong section of Expressway G65. It’s worth noting that the section has realized effective management of fault alerting, inspection, maintenance, and acceptance processes, achieving a 12% drop in the traffic accident rate in 2023 compared to 2022 and a 16% increase in maintenance efficiency.

How smart is the intelligent toll lane? To find the answer, we recently visited the S7 Gaoxinnan Toll Station, a tollgate with a large traffic flow in Chongqing.

The S7 Gaoxinnan Toll Station is formerly known as the S5 Jiulongpo Toll Station, with a daily traffic volume of up to 60,000 vehicles during holidays.

The toll station features 28 toll lanes (9 entrances and 19 exits), including five intelligent lands and four ECT lanes, with all manual toll collection lanes replaced by intelligent ones.

We found that the most notable change in each toll lane is the addition of multiple intelligent devices full of cutting-edge technologies, such as yellow and white toll collection robots, model identification robots, and non-sensing vehicles.

The toll collection robots, 2 meters high and 0.9 meters wide, are installed on the side of the toll lanes. They are programmed to automatically complete the license plate recognition, fee collection, and other processes for a vehicle within 10 seconds once a CPC card is inserted into the robot.

“Intelligent toll collection robots can completely replace the manual mode. Intelligent lanes are accessible to those who are not able to use the ETC system,” said the relevant official.

What’s more, all vehicles can enjoy intelligent voice customer service provided by the toll collection robots and ask for staff service by pressing the ‘help’ button on the robot.

It’s learned that the 22 toll stations with 52 toll lanes on the Jiulongpo-Yongchuan Expressway, Hechang Expressway, Wanzhou Ring Expressway, Jiangjin-Luzhou Northern Expressway, and Tongliang-Anyue Expressway have completed the digitalization and upgrading of toll collection service, achieving a 20% increase in single-lane traffic efficiency. (Translated by Yuki, Fathom Language Limited)