Pakistan now joins the list of growing countries where RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) based electronic toll collection is in use. For now it has been introduced on Peshawar – Islamabad M1 and Islamabad – Lahore M2 Motorways. This technology allows the vehicles to pass through toll booths without stopping and toll amount is automatically deducted from the money account on record.
Here is how the system works. An RFID tag (transponder) is now available free-of-cost to motorists using Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar toll plazas. This tag is attached to a car’s wind shield.
News appearing to this effect in Dawn of November 7, 2007 says:
“Those who want to secure the RFID tag will be required to submit full particulars about their person, details of bank account and some other information. The NHA (National Highway Authority) staff posted at the plazas for selling of the tag will register all such details in their system.â€
On toll plazas, RFID Readers with antennas have been installed. When a vehicle approaches a toll plaza, the RFID Reader Antenna communicates wirelessly with the RFID tag located in the vehicle wind shield. At highway speeds (in excess of 100 kmph), the system identifies the car and charges the correct amount of toll to the bank account on record. The system which is installed in Pakistan, a vehicle will still have to stop at a booth but no human transaction between the vehicle occupants and toll booth operator is needed. I believe it is definitely a step in positive direction. It will reduce waiting lines at toll booths and save fuel.
Following is another excerpt from the original news that appears in Dawn of November 7, 2007.
“A very interesting feature of the new system is that the required amount would be electronically deducted from the bank account of the motorist. The e-toll will also have a fast tracking system installed which will detect wrong information givers. As such, in case there is no amount in the account of the person concerned the NHA electronic system will recognize it and signal stop by flashing the red light and the bar would not be lifted.â€
It appears in the news that after initial deployment at Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar toll plazas, the system will be extended to all toll plazas located on the motorways M1, M2 and M3.
The electronic toll system in Pakistan has been introduced by NHA (National Highway Authority) in collaboration with NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority).
Update: July 7, 2008:
This news update appears on July 7, 2008 in Jang. It shows 10210 vehicles have so far registered for the RFID tagged E-toll system on Pakistan Motorway Network.
References:
1. HyPass of Pakistan
2. National Highway Authority
3. National Database and Registration Authority
4. Title photo is from Wikipedia.com
Rest of 150 million Pakistanis are suffering from basic needs like, water, electric, schools, hospitals, etc…..Govt is catering to needs of .0001 of Pakistanis with RFID crap.
@ traffic hazardous,
the vue of the Driver is seriously hindered 1/4 of
the wind screen is blocked !!!
the gadget-luxury only few thousands Pakistani
can afford,
and the job loss ? toll collector’s !! think before !
Thanks to job curtailing policy
Since I worked on this project in its infancy, I know that most of the time we were worried about getting it to work rather than iron out possible hack-safe measures. The only thing we did was to ensure that the data on the RFID is encrypted, which is nothing more than maybe a few ID numbers.
Which reminds me of the funny time when we demoed the Proof of Concept to Mush. The system wasn’t working because the speed with which the scanner reads the tag limits the car to speeds below 20kmph. And since nobody could keep the car driving in a limited space to below 20 without looking up from the speedometer as well as avoiding hitting Mush, we had to fake the entry into the system as well as turn on the signal to indicate successful testing.
Nevertheless, these systems are here to stay and I think its high time we stopped worrying about privacy and such issues There is no way to prevent someone in power to misuse any system… just look at Mush.
There are many security and privacy issues regarding RFID tags. RFID tags can used to gather sensitive data about individuals without their knowledge. They can also be used to obtain the identity of individuals if they are used in conjunction with credit/debit cards and other personal details. Products with RFID tags can be tracked therefore they pose a risk to individual privacy and security. Perhaps the authorities can illicitly track individuals’ whereabouts as their cars pass through toll booths. I think that this technology can be easily used for surveillance purposes in a country like Pakistan with a military government and a lack of civil liberties due to the state of emergency. Political dissidents could be an easy target of illicit tracking
Good to see this finally. Perhaps they should add credit card to their options as well, cz. i wonder how they are going to manage the availability of funds in the bank account.