App takes a toll off drivers

37,000. That's not, as you might think, the number of cars using the M50 barrier-free tolling system every day. It's actually the number of people sued last year by the National Roads Authority for non-payment of that toll.

One individual racked up €8,000 in fines for non-payment, and 17 cars were seized by the Sheriff for flouting the free-flow tolling system.

Out of some 150,000 vehicles using the tolled section of Dublin’s ring road every day, the NRA says about 4 per cent don’t pay and have to be chased.

Many of those will, of course, pay upon receiving the first penalty – a nominal €3 fine on top of the €3.10 toll charge for private cars. If that’s not payed, then a further €41 fine is levied. Fail to pay that and €103 is added on. After that the legal cases start. According to the NRA, €4 million in unpaid tolls and fines had to be chased down last year.

A Dublin-based apps developer reckons he figured out at least part of the solution: an app that not only allows you to pay your toll using your smartphone, but also sends you a reminder before the initial payment period runs out.

Tagged by an idea

“I was walking down Dawson Street when I saw a bus go past that had an ad on the side,”

Colin Hayes

told

The Irish Times.

“The ad said something along the lines of ‘don’t be one of the 37,000 – get a tag’, and it just occurred to me that something is wrong when a business needs to sue 37,000 of its customers.”

His m50app, which is available on Apple and Android devices, knows the GPS co-ordinates of the toll barrier and can recognise when your car passes through it. It will then send you a message alerting you to make the payment, which can be done via the app. It will also give you an electronic nudge one hour before the payment deadline, which kicks in at 8pm the following day.

System-wide

Mr Hayes wants the app to eventually become part of the official tolling system.

“I’m trying to build it up to the point where I can take it to the tolling operator and say, look, we have all these people signed up,” he said. “Why not offer them the same discount, €1 per trip, that you offer tag holders. Then we can pass that saving on to the users, taking a small percentage for ourselves.”

Would the toll operator prefer to continue levying the extra charges on those who don’t pay? Mr Hayes doesn’t think so, “on the basis that if you sign up for a tag you get a 33 per cent discount.

“What they want is guaranteed payment, not the hassle of chasing. They have their own in-house legal team dealing with non-payments, so it’s not exactly a profit centre.”

Mr Hayes has also developed a similar app for the M25 motorway ring road around London, which has just introduced barrier-free tolling on the Dartford tunnel.

Along with the M50 version, it has already been a success: 3,000 people have downloaded the M50 app, and 5,000 M25 users downloaded the UK app in the first week of release.

Eventually, Mr Hayes plans to provide a one-stop app shop for all European tolls, including those in Spain, Germany and France.