Ireland and Emovis: Delivering ground-breaking mobility solutions
One of the impacts of the Celtic Tiger was a surge in car ownership. By 2008, there were 2.5 million cars on Ireland’s roads and most of them used the M50, Ireland’s busiest road and the hub of the motorway network. It became apparent to TII that the traditional tolling infrastructure on the M50 was not fit for purpose.
They turned to Emovis to deliver and operate an innovative barrier-free tolling system – the first in Europe – to eliminate the queues, saving time and reducing emissions. The new barrier-free tolling system fitted seamlessly into Ireland’s interoperability management service provider (IMSP). This system, allowing motorists to pay any toll charge on Ireland’s 11 toll roads through one account, has also been operated by Emovis since 2013.
Having launched its cutting-edge technology free flow solutions in Ireland, Emovis has brought the benefits of free-flow tolling around the world with operations established in the UK and new projects starting in the US and Qatar.
The desire to provide an excellent customer experience to all toll users in Ireland was an important factor that led Ireland’s TII to partner with Emovis, a well-known and established company in electronic tolling and smart mobility solutions, to operate the IMSP. Emovis provides services centred around customer, i.e., the driver, experience, which is impacted most by different systems and technology solutions.
The Emovis-operated IMSP system quickly became a ground-breaking success story in free flow mobility and a welcomed solution to millions of motorists travelling on Ireland’s roads. By 2019, the system had over 60 million tag transactions annually, and a 30 per cent increase in total number of transactions. IMSP has also been crucial in improving the environmental impact of Ireland’s road network as tag owners travel on the Irish motorway network without having to stop or queue at a barrier considerably cutting CO2 emissions. Also, customers have single tag accounts with all the records of their transactions greatly reducing the number of physical receipts being issued.
“Since day one at Emovis, we’ve strived to challenge the status quo and change what’s possible. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution.”
Emovis: among the top 100 companies in Ireland
Emovis, currently operating different mobility solutions in 10 countries across the world, has been the preferred partner of many local authorities because of its long-standing expertise and reputation in implementing high-level engineering solutions, using the latest and most efficient technology.
With over 700 employees across 10 countries, Emovis operates some of the largest electronic tolling infrastructures in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Qatar.
The company offers solutions that focus on future mobility-related challenges. This includes the implementation of a low emissions zone (LEZ) and congestion charging. LEZ is a tariff based on the pollution of the vehicle in an urban area, while congestion charging is a tariff based on the use of the space in a certain period in an urban area. Both solutions help address important environmental challenges.
Emovis’s work also focuses on road user charging (RUC). To capture fuel tax loss from electric and hybrid vehicles, agencies typically implement one-time registration fees. RUC programmes as an alternative to these registrations. In the United States, Emovis is currently operating RUC programmes in the states of Utah and Oregon with a third programme in Virginia to launch in July 2022.
“There are some social trends and scarce resources that require existing mobility solutions to evolve, impacting tolling,” says Stephen McCarthy, CEO of Emovis Ireland. “Since day one at Emovis, we’ve strived to challenge the status quo and change what’s possible. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. Knowing this has allowed us to broaden our horizons, look at problems from multiple angles and constantly challenge the status quo in collaboration with our clients.”
Importantly, the work of Emovis helps to create jobs. In the United Kingdom, Emovis has been working with the Halton Borough Council and the Mersey Gateway Crossings Board since 2017 for its tolling services in the Mersey Gateway and the Silver Jubilee Bridges between Runcorn and Widnes near Liverpool. Earlier this year, it was announced that this partnership would be extended to 2029, securing the jobs of over 100 people in the region.
The success of this project was partially possible thanks to the experience gained from Emovis’s work in Ireland. In 2017, Emovis launched eflow, one of the first tolling mobility apps in the country. The objective for creating an app for eflow customers was to help increase unregistered customers make one off toll payments, pre-pay toll passages and sign up to receive reminders. The success of the app helped Emovis develop a similar solution for motorists in the UK. The company is deploying enforcement capabilities to manage on-street parking for local authorities.
Projects such the Mersey Gateway Crossing or IMSP have also been critical to developing the company’s unrivalled enforcement capabilities. The company has developed a series of enforcement products and services ensuring maximum scheme compliance and revenue collection, crucial to maintaining and improving road infrastructure.
Building from this expertise, Emovis is currently developing a solution to manage on-street parking, which it hopes to deploy with local authorities in Ireland and the UK.
Emovis’s presence in Ireland has been beneficial to both local authorities and to the company, as the country has become a pioneer in mobility solutions and Emovis has been able to test and implement the latest technology and most efficient solutions. The successful partnership has been recognised by organisations including the reputed Business and Finance Top 100 Companies Index which included Emovis in its 2022 edition.
Stephen McCarthy, CEO Emovis Ireland
T: +353 87 299 7256
E: Stephen.mccarthy@emovis.ie
