automatic toll collection, was Japan Puts Its Money on E-Cash

[John Levine]

> And, while there is a privacy issue, optical license plate readers
> are getting good enough that the issue may soon be moot.

Seems moot now.  The 407 toll road around Toronto has no toll booths
at all.  If you drive on it frequently, you can get a transponder but
otherwise, they take a picture of your plates, look you up, and mail
you a bill.  This does work -- I've gotten a bill for my NY car after
a trip.  The web site at http://www.407etr.com/ makes it clear that
the transponder is completely optional, and won't save you any money
unless you use it more than 7 times a year.  (The transponder costs
$2/mo and saves $3.45 per trip.)

The easiest way to get a transponder appears to be to drive on the
road, wait until you get a bill on which they will have assigned you
an account number, then use that number to log into their web site and
order one.

An article in Wikipedia says that congestion tolls in London (UK) are
also collected automatically by taking pictures of license plates.

R's,
John


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