Passage Detection & Road User Charging:
Strategic Advisory for Complex Systems

Unlocking Value Through Global Knowledge and Systems Thinking

Strategic Advisory for Complex Systems

CBS Group brings unique global knowledge in passage detection, road user charging, and compliance strategy—drawing on experience across tolling regimes worldwide, from traditional gantry systems to emerging distance-based charging models. We view passage detection as a fundamental infrastructure capability closely connected with ticketing systems, and we help clients navigate the complex intersection of technology, policy, and human behaviour.

Our approach combines deep domain expertise with systems thinking: we understand that effective road user charging isn't just a technology challenge—it's a social challenge requiring balanced incentives alongside penalties, right-sized enforcement approaches, and solutions that respect both operator economics and user experience.

Our Unique Perspective

Global Tolling Knowledge

We've worked with toll operators, transport agencies, and technology providers across Australia and internationally, giving us insight into what works—and what doesn't—across different tolling regimes, regulatory environments, and customer expectations. This global perspective informs our strategic advice on tolling policy, technology selection, and compliance approaches.

Passage Detection as Core Capability

We view passage detection—accurately identifying and tracking vehicles across road networks—as a fundamental infrastructure capability that extends beyond traditional tolling. The same core capability supports congestion charging, heavy vehicle management, network analytics, and integrated transport ticketing. Our expertise spans roadside technologies (cameras, sensors, OCR engines), back-office systems (billing, customer accounts, enforcement), and the integration layers that connect them.

Compliance as Social Challenge

Effective compliance isn't achieved through penalties alone. We encourage clients to think about incentives that encourage desired behaviour, balanced enforcement that maintains fairness without excessive burden, and right-sized approaches that match compliance investment to revenue risk. Our work with major toll operators has demonstrated that thoughtful compliance design—combining technology, policy, and customer experience—delivers better outcomes than pure enforcement approaches.

Technology Agnostic Philosophy

We're not wedded to specific vendors or technologies. Our advice prioritises outcomes over tools, helping clients select and integrate the right technologies for their specific context. Whether you're evaluating ANPR systems from Qfree, Transcore, Hikvision, or others, we provide independent assessment based on performance, integration requirements, and whole-of-life value.

Selective Proprietary Innovation

While technology-agnostic in our advisory work, we've developed proprietary technologies and techniques where we identified fundamental performance gaps that existing solutions couldn't address. Our IRIS platform emerged from this philosophy: when we observed that single-source recognition systems hit a mathematical ceiling around 95-97% accuracy, we developed Bayesian fusion methodology to break through that barrier using existing infrastructure more intelligently.

Connection to Ticketing Systems

Passage detection and ticketing share fundamental capabilities: identifying users, tracking usage, calculating charges, and managing accounts. We help clients leverage this connection, whether integrating tolling with public transport ticketing, implementing account-based tolling that mirrors transit payment systems, or designing unified mobility platforms that span multiple transport modes.

IRIS: Intelligent Passage Detection Through Bayesian Fusion

Breaking the 95% Accuracy Barrier Through Systems Thinking

IRIS

High-Accuracy Vehicle Recognition

IRIS is a proprietary passage detection platform that combines multiple independent observations through advanced Bayesian fusion methodology to achieve 99.8% accuracy in vehicle identification. IRIS operates as intelligent middleware between existing ANPR systems and back-office platforms—it enhances what's already there rather than replacing it.

Key Benefit:
Break through the 95% accuracy ceiling using your existing camera infrastructure. No hardware replacement required.

Proven Result:
95.2% → 99.8% accuracy | $5.8M annual revenue recovery | 96% reduction in exception processing

IRIS+

Distance-Based Charging & Network Analytics

IRIS+ extends high-accuracy vehicle identification by coupling it with route mapping systems to enable probabilistic calculation of distance and route travelled between detection points. This transforms existing camera infrastructure into a comprehensive distance-based charging system, supporting equitable road user charging, congestion pricing, and network utilisation analytics.

Key Benefit:
Enable fair, per-kilometre charging based on actual road usage. Transform gantry-based tolling into distance-based charging without major infrastructure investment.

Proven Result:
80% capital cost savings vs traditional gantry approach | Equitable charging for all users | Comprehensive network intelligence for transport planning

The Strategic Context

95-97%

Maximum Accuracy

Traditional ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) systems plateau at 95-97% accuracy regardless of hardware quality. This isn't a technology limitation—it's a mathematical ceiling inherent to single-source recognition.

3-5%

Error Rate Impact

For toll operators, this 3-5% error rate translates to millions in revenue leakage, excessive exception processing costs, and customer frustration from incorrect charges.

Systems Thinking Approach

CBS Group observed this fundamental performance gap across tolling regimes globally. While most operators responded by investing in better cameras or additional gantries, we took a systems thinking approach: what if we used existing infrastructure more intelligently rather than adding more hardware?

THE IRIS SOLUTION

Breaking the 95% Accuracy Barrier Through Systems Thinking

IRIS is a proprietary passage detection platform that combines multiple independent observations—from different cameras and/or OCR engines—through advanced Bayesian fusion methodology to achieve 99.8% accuracy in vehicle identification. This represents a step-change improvement over traditional single-source systems, achieved using infrastructure that toll operators have already deployed.

IRIS operates as intelligent middleware between existing ANPR systems and back-office billing, enforcement, and customer account platforms. The system requires no modification to existing cameras, OCR engines, or back-office systems—it enhances what's already there rather than replacing it.

Technology-Agnostic Integration

IRIS works with any modern ANPR system—Qfree, Transcore, Hikvision, Axis, and others. This technology-agnostic approach reflects our advisory philosophy: we enhance existing investments rather than forcing technology replacement. Whether you've standardised on a single vendor or operate a multi-vendor environment, IRIS integrates seamlessly.

Systems Thinking in Practice

IRIS embodies systems thinking: rather than optimising individual components (better cameras, faster OCR), we optimised the system as a whole. By recognising that independent observations provide uncorrelated evidence, and that Bayesian fusion can combine this evidence to exponentially improve accuracy, we achieved outcomes that component-level improvements alone couldn't deliver.

IRIS+ extends this capability

by coupling high-accuracy vehicle identification with route mapping systems to enable probabilistic calculation of distance and route travelled between successive detection points. This transforms existing camera infrastructure into a comprehensive distance-based charging system, supporting equitable road user charging, congestion pricing, and network utilisation analytics.

KEY CAPABILITIES & PROVEN OUTCOMES

Award-winning platforms that transform infrastructure performance

IRIS Core Platform:

Capabilities:

Bayesian Fusion Engine: Combines multiple independent observations to break the 95% accuracy ceiling
Confidence-Weighted Outputs: Provides confidence scores (0-100%) enabling risk-based decision-making and right-sized compliance approaches
Multi-Engine Compatibility: Works with any ANPR engine—technology-agnostic by design
Real-Time Processing: Sub-second processing for high-volume toll collection operations
Continuous Learning: Machine learning algorithms automatically adapt to changing conditions
Graceful Degradation: Maintains operation even if individual cameras or OCR engines fail
Standard Integration: Connects via standard APIs to billing, enforcement, customer account, and ticketing systems

Proven Results:

Accuracy Improvement: 95.2% → 99.8% (4.6 percentage point improvement breaking the mathematical ceiling)
Revenue Recovery: $5.8M annual recovery from previously undetected violations (Victorian toll road deployment)
Exception Processing Reduction: 96% reduction in manual review cases—freeing operator resources for higher-value activities
Operational Efficiency: Reduced manual intervention, lower exception processing costs, improved system availability
Customer Experience: Improved billing accuracy, fewer incorrect charges, reduced disputes

IRIS+ Enhanced Capabilities:

Capabilities:

Route Mapping Integration: Probabilistic calculation of distance and route travelled between detection points
Distance-Based Charging: Accurate billing based on actual distance travelled, enabling equitable road user charging
Network Utilisation Analytics: Comprehensive traffic flow analysis and route choice behaviour for transport planning
Variable Pricing Support: Time-of-day, congestion-based, and vehicle-class pricing models
Multi-Point Tracking: Tracks vehicles across distributed detection points throughout road networks
Privacy-Preserving Design: Calculates distance without storing complete vehicle trajectories—respecting user privacy while enabling accurate charging
Ticketing Integration: Connects passage detection with broader mobility ticketing and account management systems

Additional Benefits:

Equitable Charging: Fair billing based on actual road usage, not arbitrary gantry locations
Revenue Optimisation: Distance-based charging captures revenue from all road segments, not just instrumented points
Network Intelligence: Comprehensive understanding of traffic patterns, route choices, and network utilisation for evidence-based transport planning
Policy Flexibility: Enables congestion pricing, vehicle-class differentiation, time-of-day pricing, and other policy tools

How We Help & Who We Work With

Award-winning platforms that transform infrastructure performance

Tolling Strategy & Policy Development

We help transport agencies and toll operators develop comprehensive road user charging strategies that balance revenue objectives, customer experience, compliance requirements, and political considerations. Our global knowledge across tolling regimes—from traditional gantry-based systems to emerging distance-based and congestion charging models—informs practical, implementable strategies tailored to local contexts.

Technology Selection & Vendor Management

Our technology-agnostic approach enables independent assessment of ANPR systems, back-office platforms, and integrated solutions from vendors including Qfree, Transcore, Hikvision, and others. We help clients evaluate options based on performance requirements, integration complexity, whole-of-life costs, and strategic fit—not vendor relationships.

Compliance Strategy & Design

We help clients design compliance approaches that balance incentives and penalties, right-size enforcement investment to revenue risk, and achieve desired behaviour change through thoughtful policy design. Our work with major toll operators has demonstrated that effective compliance is a social challenge requiring careful balance between technology, policy, and customer experience.

Systems Integration & Architecture

Passage detection systems must integrate with billing platforms, customer account systems, enforcement workflows, and increasingly with broader mobility ticketing and payment systems. We help clients design integration architectures that leverage existing infrastructure, minimise modification risk, and enable future flexibility.

Operational Optimisation

We help existing toll operators optimise operations through better use of existing infrastructure, more intelligent processing of exceptions, improved customer communications, and evidence-based compliance approaches. Our systems thinking approach identifies opportunities to improve outcomes without necessarily requiring major capital investment.

IRIS Platform Deployment

We deploy IRIS and IRIS+ platforms to enhance existing toll collection infrastructure, typically achieving 99.8% accuracy from existing camera infrastructure through our proprietary Bayesian fusion methodology. Deployment requires no modification to existing cameras, OCR engines, or back-office systems—IRIS operates as intelligent middleware that enhances what's already there.

Distance-Based Charging Implementation

IRIS+ enables transformation of existing gantry-based toll collection into comprehensive distance-based charging systems by coupling high-accuracy vehicle identification with route mapping. We help clients design and implement equitable distance-based charging that captures revenue from all road segments while respecting user privacy and providing policy flexibility.

Performance Enhancement Programs

For clients operating existing toll collection systems, we provide performance enhancement programs that identify opportunities to improve accuracy, reduce exception processing costs, enhance customer experience, and recover lost revenue—typically through better use of existing infrastructure rather than wholesale replacement.

Integration & Interoperability

We provide technical services to integrate passage detection systems with broader infrastructure including billing platforms, customer account systems, enforcement workflows, public transport ticketing, parking management, and mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platforms.

Toll Operators

Private and government toll road operators seeking to optimise existing operations, enhance accuracy, reduce exception processing costs, recover lost revenue, and explore distance-based or congestion charging options.

Transport Agencies

Government transport and infrastructure agencies developing road user charging policies, evaluating tolling and congestion charging options, or implementing network-wide vehicle detection and analytics capabilities.

Infrastructure Developers

Developers of new toll roads, tunnels, and bridges seeking optimal passage detection strategies that balance capital costs, operational efficiency, revenue certainty, and customer experience.

Technology Providers

ANPR vendors, system integrators, and back-office platform providers seeking independent performance enhancement, integration expertise, or partnership opportunities to deliver enhanced outcomes to shared clients.

Transport Planners

Urban transport planners and traffic engineers seeking comprehensive vehicle detection and network analytics capabilities to support evidence-based planning, traffic management, and mobility policy development.

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CASE STUDY'S

Victorian Toll Road Deployment

The Challenge

Major Victorian toll road operator experiencing 95.2% accuracy from existing ANPR system, resulting in:

$5.8M annual revenue leakage from undetected violations
High exception processing costs requiring manual review of thousands of images daily
Customer frustration from incorrect charges and disputes
Operational inefficiency consuming significant staff resources

Our Solution

Deployed IRIS platform as intelligent middleware between existing ANPR infrastructure and back-office billing system:

No modification to existing cameras or OCR engines required
No changes to back-office billing or customer account systems
Rapid deployment with minimal disruption to ongoing operations

Results

95.2

99.8

Accuracy improvement:

(4.6 percentage point improvement)

5.8

Revenue recovery

$5.8M annually from previously undetected violations

Exception processing reduction:

96% reduction in manual review cases

Outcomes

Operational efficiency: Freed staff resources for higher-value customer service activities
Customer experience: Improved billing accuracy and reduced disputes
ROI: Investment recovered in under 12 months from revenue recovery alone

Systems Thinking Approach:

Rather than replacing existing infrastructure, IRIS enhanced it through intelligent combination of multiple independent observations. This systems thinking approach—optimising the whole rather than individual components—delivered outcomes that hardware upgrades alone couldn't achieve.

Western Harbour Tunnel Distance-Based Charging Analysis

Context

Western Harbour Tunnel (Sydney) presents opportunity to implement equitable distance-based charging rather than fixed-price tolling:

6.5km tunnel with multiple entry/exit points
Users travel varying distances through tunnel infrastructure
Traditional approach: fixed charge at entry/exit gantries treats all users equally regardless of distance travelled

Traditional Approach:

Fixed charge at tunnel entry/exit gantries
All users pay same amount regardless of distance travelled
No revenue from intermediate tunnel segments
Capital cost: $4-6M for entry/exit gantries

IRIS+ Approach:

Per-kilometre charging based on actual distance travelled through tunnel
Equitable charging: short-distance users pay proportionally less
Comprehensive revenue capture from all tunnel segments
Capital cost: $1-2M leveraging existing cameras (80% savings)
Operational benefit: 96% reduction in exception processing through 99.8% accuracy
Policy flexibility: Variable pricing by time-of-day and vehicle class

Connection to Broader Mobility

IRIS+ passage detection capabilities support broader mobility objectives beyond tolling:

Integration

with public transport ticketing for unified mobility accounts

Connection

to parking and kerbside management systems

Support

for mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) platforms

Data sharing

with transport planning and network management systems

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Let's explore how CBS Group's global knowledge and systems thinking approach can help you navigate the complex challenges of passage detection, road user charging, and compliance strategy.

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Passage Detection & Road User Charging: Strategic Advisory for Complex Systems