Press releases

Martinez succeeds Juan Zamakona who is leaving Latin America to join the Kapsch team in Europe. Since Kapsch came to Mexico with the acquisition of Simex, Zamakona has managed the transition, positioning Kapsch as a leading provider of toll, electronic toll and mobility technology in this region. "I would like to thank Juan for his great commitment during his assignment in the region over the years and wish him success in his new role and professional challenge" , says Rivas.  Kapsch has great expectations for growth in the region, both in the toll sector and in urban mobility. Its advanced SmartToll tolling system has been successfully implemented in recent projects in both Mexico and Costa Rica, and the intention is to have the opportunity to upgrade all legacy systems installed or operated by Kapsch in the region to SmartToll. Ramón Martinez expresses his enthusiasm and indicates that he will have a strong focus on customer satisfaction: "I am very excited about this new challenge, as this is a company whose innovative technologies can effectively meet the needs of our cities and highways to provide a better experience for citizens. My goal is to follow up on Kapsch's success in my sub-region, always keeping the customer at the centre so that we can be their best partners in tolling and mobility management.”

System integrator Kapsch TrafficCom to convert existing toll zones with all-electronic option. (Duluth, GA – January 11, 2022) The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) has selected Kapsch TrafficCom (Kapsch) to convert three remaining NHDOT toll zones to mainline all-electronic tolling (AET) from mixed-mode payment. This project extends Kapsch’s work scope initially contracted in 2015, in which Kapsch converted NHDOT toll sites at Hampton and Hooksett to provide a free-flow AET option at those toll plazas. The sites Kapsch will convert to AET are at Dover, Rochester, and Bedford, and will each feature single-gantry architecture that contains all tolling equipment. The Kapsch nVDC stereoscopic video sensor will trigger license plate reading (ALPR) cameras while supporting vehicle detection and classification, along with sensors and in-pavement treadles. The Kapsch VRX camera will facilitate video tolling for vehicles that do not have a toll transponder. Drivers will no longer need to stop, slow down, or change lanes at any point along these five sites in order to pay tolls, which will help improve traffic congestion, road safety, and vehicle emissions. As part of the project, Kapsch will also enhance its existing multiprotocol readers (MPR2.3) along NHDOT toll sites, enabling the agency to process all tolling protocols and support the goal of national tolling interoperability. Kapsch is a leading provider of electronic toll collection systems throughout the world, and has provided products and services to NHDOT through the E-ZPass Group since 2005. JB Kendrick, President of Kapsch TrafficCom North America, states: “The introduction of new free-flow traffic lanes at all NHDOT toll sites will offer drivers increased convenience and faster journeys, and we are glad to partner with NHDOT in this effort by expanding our proven AET solution at all the plaza locations.” Kapsch TrafficCom is a globally renowned provider of transportation solutions for sustainable mobility. Innovative solutions in the application fields of tolling, tolling services, traffic management and demand management contribute to a healthy world without congestion. Kapsch has brought projects to fruition in more than 50 countries around the globe. With one-stop solutions, the company covers the entire value chain of customers, from components to design and implementation to the operation of systems. As part of the Kapsch Group and headquartered in Vienna, Kapsch TrafficCom has subsidiaries and branches in more than 25 countries. It has been listed in the Prime Market segment of the Vienna Stock Exchange since 2007 (ticker symbol: KTCG). In its 2020/21 financial year, around 4,660 employees generated revenues of approximately EUR 500 million.  

Santiago, Chile, December 21, 2021 – New system allows combination of conventional and Free Flow tolling for a better user experience. A new electronic toll system will be installed on a 27 km stretch of the route through the Valparaíso region in Chile's central valley. Kapsch TrafficCom, a leading global toll technology and mobility management company, has been awarded the contract to implement its SmartToll system by Sociedad Concesionaria Nuevo Camino Nogales-Puchuncaví S.A. (Canopsa) of the company Aleatica. This will bring state-of-the-art toll collection to the market.  The project consists of an innovative system that combines traditional plazas with the Multi-Lane Free-Flow (MLFF) system. This offers a more flexible experience to highway users, who have different payment options and the possibility of reducing their travel time. According to Felipe Darrigrande, Country Manager of Kapsch TrafficCom in Chile, “this project is particularly interesting because of the combination of technologies that will result in a better end user experience, and also because it is the first implementation of our SmartToll system in Chile.” Within this project, Kapsch is responsible for the supply, installation and commissioning of the end-to-end toll collection system. This also includes the Back Office systems for the electronic toll collection, the Operational Back Office and the Commercial Back Office and Customer Service Center. Paulo Cezar de Souza, Project Manager and Technical Director of Aleatica Labs, states that “Aleatica is an globally active, intelligent transportation infrastructure operation company with the user at the center of its operations. The installation of this type of system is an example of how innovation and technology improve the user experience, offering greater efficiency in traffic flow.” Innovative systems for a better user experience The free-flow tolling system of Kapsch TrafficCom has been successfully implemented around the world. Thanks to the company's focus on R&D, the system installed in Chile is capable of the detection of double wheels on the rear axle with gantry-based sensors. Together with its axle detection and classification system, this allows categorizing vehicles to be charged according to the respective rate. The gantry-based sensors also allow greater safety for vehicles and for maintenance personnel, since no road blocks are required for system meintenance.

Vienna, December 20, 2021  – 1.2   million trucks save time with new on-board unit. Tolling services provider Tolltickets launches its services in Poland. From December 1 st , Tolltickets users will be able to drive from Gdańsk to Ghent with one single on-board device and one single invoice, saving time and making the lives of drivers easier. With more than 1.2 million trucks having to pay tolls – 55% of which are registered in a foreign country – Poland is both an important transit country and one of Europe’s leading distribution hubs. The addition of Poland to Tolltickets’ portfolio also complements its broad coverage in critical European logistics centres – Quentin Couret, COO of Tolltickets, comments: “ By successfully adding Poland to our growing list of countries, we are delighted to be able to cover the strategically important East to West corridor through Germany, in addition to our existing North to South corridor through Hungary and Bulgaria”.   Jan Kersten, Managing Director at Tolltickets concludes: “ Tolltickets has once again proven its ability to react to a major change in a tolling system in a record time. With our supplies of on-board units on stock, we are ready to provide effective solutions for our partners supporting heavy vehicle fleets across Europe” . Following swiftly on from its recent extension to Belgium and the Scandinavian countries, Tolltickets Poland becomes an important country as part of its rapidly expanding EETS (European Electronic Toll Service) coverage.

Vienna, 25 November 2021  – tolltickets adds Scandinavian countries to its growing tolling network. Beginning in December, tolltickets will add an additional 800km of toll roads in Norway, several ferry providers and the world-famous Øresund and Storebaelt bridges to its network, expanding its services both for private and business customers across Europe. In Belgium, where all heavy goods vehicles (exceeding a weight of 3,5 tons) must be equipped with an On-Board Unit (OBU), tolltickets will begin the pilot phase, meaning partners and customers will soon benefit from a fully integrated solution. The Belgium road network is a significant step forward as it connects tolltickets’ users in Central and Eastern Europe with the port of Antwerp, one of the world’s largest seaports. With this service expansion, tolltickets’ users will soon be able to pay tolls seamlessly in eight countries (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway) with a single device. Quentin Couret, COO of tolltickets, comments: “ Belgium and Scandinavia are important milestones in our strategy to cover Europe with one single OBU, reducing complexity and increasing profitability for our customers.” Jan Kersten, tolltickets Managing Director, concludes: “Since entering the EETS market, tolltickets has been growing rapidly and continuously added new territories to its existing toll road network. More toll domains and will be added to its existing portfolio soon.”

Vienna, 24 November 2021  – The Glasgow Climate Pact is ambitious, but not enough. Commitments amount to 4.8 billion mt of CO 2 , while they need to fall by 12.5 billion mt in 2030 to get on track with a 2°C goal, according to the UN. For cities, the main drivers of emissions, digital traffic management is a valuable tool to reduce emissions while improving air quality. Cities like Austin or Madrid already take action and benefit from such measures today. The recently adopted Glasgow Climate Pact is an ambitious attempt to set targets for reducing emissions – but most countries are way off track in terms of meeting them. In fact, in order to achieve a warming limit of 1.5°C, efforts to curb emissions would have to reach 27 billion mt CO 2 by 2030. In addition to being am major source of emissions that are damaging the environment, urban transport is also responsible for air pollution in cities, as none-fuel emissions like tire wear emissions and braking particulates pose a significant health danger to the city population. Kapsch TrafficCom is making cities breathe again “Today, more than 80% of cities worldwide struggle with air pollution,” explains Georg Kapsch, CEO of Kapsch TrafficCom. “The impact on the environment and public health cannot be denied. Promising to focus on electric vehicles in the future is not enough and will by far not resolve the situation – immediate actions are required. We have the tools available to change things for the better, empowering cities to address these issues head-on.” By making use of the increased connectivity of infrastructure elements and traffic participants, joined-up traffic management can help cities to better guide traffic and reduce emissions-heavy congestion. Joined-up traffic management systems improve traffic flow on busy roads, influence drivers to moderate and modify their road-usage behaviour, free up space on roads for greener transport alternatives and improve air quality. By connecting infrastructure and traffic participants, cities both improve the quality of life for their citizens as well as combat global warming. The impact of traffic management In Austin, Texas, the implementation of managed lanes has improved throughput leading to reduced traffic congestion and increased revenue generation for the city. In Madrid, Spain, Kapsch data shows that Integrated Mobility Management has reduced delays and stops by 19% and journey times by 5%. Additionally, by employing joined-up traffic management measures like congestion charging, CO 2  emissions in the British city of London could be reduced by up to 20%, according to an independent assessment. Kapsch TrafficCom is working continuously to empower cities with tools to combat congestion and air pollution. That is why the company is launching its “Breathe”-campaign, emphasizing its efforts to give back cities the ability to breathe, from Times Square, New York to the streets of Buenos Aires, Melbourne and beyond. Check out more information on our Breathe-Campaign here: www.kapsch.net/en/ktc/breathe

Vienna, November 9, 2021 – City of Vienna and Kapsch TrafficCom launch climate-friendly mobility of the future with Traffic Management   2.0. Such initiatives can help the UK to achieve its net zero target by 2050.   In the fight against the global climate crisis and its consequences, emission reduction in traffic plays an essential role. The digitalization of traffic management is an important lever for cities that want to reduce emissions while simultaneously improving the traffic experience.  With the UK Governements Decarbonising Transport Plan, deploying the Traffic Management 2 solution paves the way in defining real improvements to air quality and with Kapsch innovation always addressing the key challenges, examples such as this project are excellent illustratons of how technology can play a vital role in achieving the Decarbonisation plan.  Intelligent, networked systems not only increase traffic safety, but also contribute to climate protection. They enable smooth transportation and thus reduce emissions. As a climate protection pioneer, the City of Vienna is at the forefront here, too, with a lighthouse project jointly pursued with Kapsch TrafficCom. "We are working on further climate protection measures in road traffic. Smart transportation management helps to improve the traffic conditions and thus the CO 2  balance. We are now launching a pioneer project with its first application, the Grüne Welle Wien app. It can already save up to 15% of emissions, as well as make the lives of the Vienna bicyclists a lot easier" says Ulli Sima, City Councilor for Mobility and Digitalization, who presented the Traffic Management 2.0 project together with Georg Kapsch, CEO of Kapsch TrafficCom.  Traffic Management 2.0   Under the slogan "Traffic Management 2.0," the City of Vienna and Kapsch TrafficCom are implementing a comprehensive set of measures for future-oriented transportation guidance. Those range from networked traffic lights that prevent congestion and switch to green for approaching streetcars, to an intelligent navigation system that anticipates critical traffic situations in real time, helps to proactively circumvent traffic jams and protects sensitive areas such as schools, thus ensuring greater safety on school routes. Long term, the aim is for Traffic Management 2.0 functions to be available directly in vehicles, too. That way, Vienna will be well prepared for the coming innovation boosts such as autonomous driving. "What sounds a bit like science fiction today could be quite commonplace in the foreseeable future when all of this is made possible by the networked and intelligent traffic systems that we are now bringing to live in Vienna," says Steve Parsons, Sales Director at Kapsch TrafficCom. Grüne Welle Wien The Grüne Welle Wien app is the first step of the Traffic Management 2.0 project. It will enable cyclists and car drivers to make their way through city traffic at much less effort and stress, as well as in a more fuel-efficient and comfortable way. The smartphone app either shows at which speed – within the permitted speed limit – the next traffic light can be reached at green or how many seconds it will still be on red. If a traffic light is on red, road users may coast and thus still be moving when the light turns green again. This means fewer start-ups and a much better flow of traffic. In the case of cars, this saves up to 15 percent fuel and emissions. When cycling, the app allows to perfectly adjust the physical effort to the green phases and to travel much more smoothly through the city. "Vienna is becoming one of the leading cities in Europe when it comes to mobility. With Grüne Welle Wien, traffic signals in the city will communicate intelligently with road users. In order to avoid congestion, the next step will be to flexibly control the green phases at the traffic lights depending on the actual traffic volume. Stress and environmental pollution can thus be drastically reduced,” concludes Parsons.

Santiago de Chile, Oct. 27, 2021 – A recent paper from the Inter-American Development Bank finds that South American cities are among the most congested cities in the world, costing cities like Sao Paulo over USD 2 billion per year. However, real time traffic management should be used as a game changer. The traffic management company Kapsch TrafficCom already uses smart technology in various countries to implement next generation solutions. In the past, the main approach towards reducing congestion was to build new roads. But the IADB publication shows that this instead increases the number of vehicles on the road. Clearly, combatting congestion needs a smarter approach. That is why tools like connected mobility and real time traffic management should be used to improve traffic in the cities, according to the publication. World´s smartest traffic managment in Melbourne One highly innovative example of connected mobility is the AIMES project in Melbourne, Australia. By using Bluetooth connections to pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, sensors placed on buses, trams and trains as well as environmental sensors recording pollution and noise, the “Mobility Hub” developed by Kapsch TrafficCom connects, informs and guides traffic participants. The system, covering an inner city area of 6km², over 100km of roads and more than 70 intersections, is being called the “Smartest Traffic Management in the World” and ensures a smoother flow of traffic, reduces congestion and improves safety at the same time. Buenos Aires guides traffic in real time A recent example of a successful traffic management project is the EcoTrafix platform that Kapsch TrafficCom installed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. By implementing its innovative traffic management system, Kapsch TrafficCom integrated the city’s various traffic control technologies under one umbrella system and shifted traffic control from a reactive to proactive and collaborative traffic management. Now, Buenos Aires boasts a modern, state-of-the-art integrated control center that makes traffic management and communication between the various traffic agencies of the city easier and more efficient. Solutions for all traffic stakeholders “With today’s technology, we can guide the traffic on the road in a way that avoids unnecessary congestion and improves the traffic experience for all participants, from drivers to cyclists to pedestrians”, says Emilio Rivas, Executive Vice President at Kapsch TrafficCom Latin America, a globally renowned provider of solutions for sustainable mobility. “The key is to provide authorities with live, or even predictive, information and the right tools to guide traffic.” This can be achieved through the Kapsch Predictive Analytics Module (PAM), which combines real-time traffic data with historical data to predict changing traffic conditions – both over the next 30 minutes, but also for a period of up to 10 days into the future. The solution draws on a number of relevant data sources, including GNSS data, data from roadside sensors, weather data, information about planned events in the locality, and more. This allows agencies to take preventative action before the situation worsens, improving the traffic experience for all stakeholders and reducing emissions at the same time. “We are also making it even easier for road users to get where they’re going faster,” Rivas continues. “We are enabling road users to speed up their journeys and to reduce emissions associated with congestion.” Innovative solutions like Kapsch Connected Driving help road users save time on every journey, while also reducing stress caused by delays and difficult driving conditions. Additionally, driving within recommended speed guidelines and ‘riding the green wave’ helps road users to save fuel, while also reducing wear and tear on their vehicles and tyres, and lowering related maintenance costs. The IADB publication can be found here . Innovation at Kapsch TrafficCom Those are just some of the solutions and innovations we are working on at Kapsch TrafficCom. If you want to find out more, download our use case folder at innovation.kapsch.net and learn how we at Kapsch can help you to shape your city’s mobility.

Vienna/Melbourne, Oct. 20, 2021 – Majid Sarvi, AIMES Director and Professor Of Transport Engineering at the University of Melbourne, talks about the Australian Integrated Multimodal EcoSystem (AIMES), the world’s smartest ‘Mobility Hub’ , developed together with Kapsch TrafficCom, located on the streets of inner-city Melbourne.