A rental car crosses the Mersey Gateway. A camera records its number plate. Somewhere, a bill begins its journey. But the name attached to the vehicle belongs to the rental company, which must identify the hirer before the notice can reach the person behind the wheel. The car has already crossed the bridge. The paperwork is still finding its way.
That small administrative relay reveals the business of Emovis. It supplies the equipment, software and operating teams that let authorities charge for roads without collecting money at a booth. The driving becomes easier. Behind it sits a rather demanding exercise in identifying people, checking evidence and getting paid.
- The customer: road authorities and concessionaires buying tolling systems and operations.
- The work: connect a vehicle sighting to an accurate, payable bill.
- The lesson: shorten the handoffs, then give the exceptions somewhere to go.
01 / THE ADMINISTRATIVE TRAFFIC JAMThe bill took the slow route
In a Fleet Bureau trial described by technology partner Taranto, Emovis tested electronic penalty notices and electronic transfer of liability for fleet vehicles at Mersey Gateway. The September 2018 trial used Hertz vehicles so staff could manually check the low volume. The change removed administrative steps between the crossing and the eventual payer.
Before the trial, the earliest notice paid by a hirer was settled on day 16; most were paid around day 28. Afterward, a majority of the notices that hirers paid were settled within seven to nine days of the original notice reaching Hertz. These observations came from a small operational trial, rather than a controlled experiment. Still, the direction interested Emovis.
Taranto quotes then UK chief executive Neil Conway explaining that the trial’s benefits made the move to rollout an easy decision. For anyone running a billing operation, the copyable idea is refreshingly plain: examine how long it takes to reach the person who actually owes the money.
02 / FIVE JOBS, ONE CROSSINGWhat the camera starts
Emovis divides the process into five named products. Identify detects vehicles at the roadside. Qualify checks passage records and applies operating rules. Verify gives human reviewers the images automation cannot settle. Transact handles accounts, charges, discounts and payments. Interact connects customer conversations across channels.
- IdentifyDetect the vehicle
- QualifyCheck the record
- VerifyReview the exceptions
- TransactBill and collect
- InteractConnect the customer conversation
Linked functions, with human review when needed.
The distinction between Qualify and Verify matters. A computer can produce a confident-looking answer from a poor image. Rain, an obstruction or an unreadable plate can turn that answer into someone’s billing problem. Verify exists because uncertainty needs a workflow, reviewers and an auditable decision.
These systems sit inside a broader service business. Emovis also staffs customer-service operations and supports enforcement. Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise announced a five-year customer-service partnership in 2024. At Halton’s crossings, the collection and enforcement contract runs through October 2029. Buyers are commissioning an operating capability that must keep working after launch day.
03 / BETTER INFORMATION, FEWER DISPUTESThe address is part of the algorithm
Emovis and Abertis Innovation Lab launched Smart Enforcement in December 2020. Its work included finding updated addresses through third parties and using predictive models to choose collection actions. Undeliverable mail wastes effort before any argument about the toll has even begun.
In its 2023 account, Emovis reported compliance above 97%, recovery costs down 19% and disputes down 33%. IBTTA recognized the program with its Private Sector Innovation award. The results suggest that improving collection can include reducing the mistakes and dead ends that make collection expensive.
“Thanks to our colleagues’ efforts, we are able to predict payment behaviour, redesign the recovery process”
Christian Barrientos · October 2023
04 / THE SWITCHOVER PROBLEMTwo years behind a moving road
The company’s August 2026 VíasChile announcement offers a less glamorous measure of expertise: a 24-month implementation. Emovis ran the replacement back office alongside the legacy platform, tested transaction processing and migrated in phases. That is a useful discipline when the underlying traffic will not pause for a software installation.
The deployment supports Autopista Central and Nueva Aconcagua, together handling approximately 2.2 million daily transactions across 48 gantries. Two operational engines share core infrastructure. VíasChile belongs to the Abertis concessions ecosystem, making this both a customer deployment and a project within the wider corporate family.
Emovis belongs to Abertis and launched its current brand in 2016, drawing on predecessor operations. Its market includes alternatives such as Kapsch TrafficCom, TransCore and Q-Free. Its pitch combines tolling specialization, technology and daily operations. Procurement still turns on the road, the existing systems and the contract.
05 / LESS STEEL, MORE JUDGMENTWhere the costs move
LiteToll, part of Identify, puts lighter roadside devices together with back-office processing. Emovis claims 70-90% lower capital expenditure than traditional infrastructure, following six months of testing on a highway carrying more than 30,000 vehicles daily. Treat that as a vendor comparison requiring project-level scrutiny.
A cheaper roadside installation still needs dependable evidence and a workable collection process. The practical test is the cost of a correctly resolved transaction, including maintenance, manual review and customer assistance. Poor images, missing owner information or incompatible legacy systems can consume the apparent saving.
Test the new system alongside the old one. Track uncertain records. Measure the delay before a bill reaches the liable person. Each makes a hidden handoff visible.
06 / THE ROAD BEYOND THE BOOTHCharge for the miles
Emovis also operates mileage-based road-charging programs, including work in Oregon, Utah and Virginia. These address a funding problem: vehicles that burn less fuel contribute less through fuel taxes. Mileage reporting and account management become another route to collecting road-use revenue.
For motorists, all this work is most successful when payment is straightforward and mistakes are easy to challenge. For the agency, success includes keeping records and money aligned. The booth disappears from view; responsibility for the transaction travels somewhere else. Emovis sells the machinery, and the people, to follow it there.