Normandy Workshop Highlights Advances in Highway Technology

Malika Seddi of ASFA (l’Association Professionnelle Autoroutes et Ouvrages à Péage) and Daniel Toohey of Delcan Corporation are Chief Meeting Organizers of IBTTA’s 2013 Global Technology Workshop, October 27-29 in Normandy, France. In this interview with our blogger Mitchell Beer, they trace the technology developments that are transforming the tolling industry.

What are the most important technology news and trends that participants will learn about by attending this year's Global Technology Workshop?

DT: Technology plays an ever-increasing role in toll collection, in toll road operations, and in the safety of our toll roads. This year’s global workshop will focus on technologies that encompass the challenges of efficient, safe mobility across all aspects of the toll facility, including operations, weather, security, and revenue collection. We’ll also be highlighting the growing role of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) on toll roads.

What program highlights should participants look out for during the workshop?

MS: We have put together a program that covers a wide range of technology topics, including emerging payment technologies, technology advances in toll road operations, and the convergence of tolling and ITS. And we’ll be finishing off the workshop with a session on technology mega-trends in the toll industry. This forward-looking session will give participants insights on where technology will be taking us, and getting us there sooner than we might imagine.

How will the informal hallway conversations during the workshop help advance the industry as a whole?

DT: The whole point of these sessions is to inspire and promote hallway conversations and debate. The Global Technology Workshop program was designed to inspire and broaden our thinking, and we know that the networking between sessions adds enormous value, for the attendees and for the organizations they represent. IBTTA’s annual conference series facilitates and enables all the ideas and advances that come out of those conversations, and that’s one of the association’s major contributions to our industry.

What makes Normandy a unique center for highway and tolling technology in Europe?

MS: France has always been at the forefront of tolling technology, and Normandy provides a great backdrop to focus on this technology in a region that has such a significant historical past. DT: We’ll hear about future technologies in the sessions. Then we’ll get to see many of today’s technologies during the post-workshop technical tour that will take us from Normandy to Paris. I encourage all workshop attendees to participate in this tour to allow our host, ASFA, to showcase some of their members’ roadways and technology deployments on the French toll road network.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

MS: We live in a global world, where technology touches every aspect of our lives and our commute. The Global Technology Workshop provides a roadmap to the latest developments, and to the directions we can expect the industry to go in the year ahead.