Last weekend, 2,216,339 vehicles passed through the 198 trips in the country, according to data from the Ministry of Transportation. How many paid in cash and how many used the electronic collection system?
It is estimated that five percent of payments are made through electronic collection. To date there are 491,389 active devices, which since the system began to operate have made 4,860,000 electronic payments through which more than 80,000 million pesos were collected, without counting coins, without the toll operator wasting time verifying if the 2,000 bill is false, in an agile way and without traffic jams.
Of course, it is still necessary for full interoperability of travel, but after several years of failed attempts, since last October the accelerator has been pressed and the system is moving forward.
(It may interest you: 2022: these were the rises in the dollar and the reasons).
In an interview with EL TIEMPO, The Vice Minister of Infrastructure, María Constanza García, takes stock of the Colpass operationwhich is the trademark registered by the Ministry of Transport for the travel system with electronic vehicle collection.
What is the current coverage of electronic toll collection? How many tolls already have the service and how many are needed?
Toll on the Bogotá Villavicencio highway during the end-of-year holiday exodus plan.
The public policy of interoperability of electronic tolls is of a national naturely covers all trips in the country, regardless of the granting entity. Although 100 percent of these stations are not enabled at this time, work continues to consolidate interoperability throughout the country. Of the 198 currently active toll stations in the country, 105 have completed their authorization process and 93 are pending, this represents 53 percent of the active toll stations in the national territory.
How many authorized intermediaries does the Colpass system have?
There are currently 5 intermediaries of the toll interoperability system: Gopass, Flypass, Fácilpass, Copilot and Fast Track.
When is full interoperability expected?
The authorization deadlines expired on October 30, and the Superintendence of Transportation the status of authorizations for your competition.
Why is only one operator’s electronic payment enabled at some tolls? If this is the case, should users be paid in cash?
Payment in cash will remain the same.
(In addition: Iata warned about the consequences of increasing VAT on air tickets).
We still have some negotiation processes between operators and intermediaries in process, and the Superintendency is attentive to their development. What happens is that, since there are several intermediaries, the concessionaire (of the road) has to make agreements with all of them. There we have detected that although they have been enabled, the agreements to achieve interoperability have not been reached. However, the system foresees that the payment in cash will be maintained at all toll stations.
There are complaints about the deficient signaling of the booths enabled for electronic payment, how can the user identify them?
Regardless of the chip brand, the user you can identify the enabled lanes with the Colpass brand logo, which refers to the general system. However, from the Ministry of Transport we are working on the construction of an image manual to institutionalize the signaling of the exclusive lane and guarantee easy and efficient identification for users.
What has happened to the dealers who have not enabled the service or did not do so within the time stipulated by the resolution?
Operators that have not been authorized may be subject to administrative investigations by the Superintendency of Transportation, always with the guarantee of due process and the right to defense. It should be noted thatthat the opening of the process by the entity does not exempt them from the obligation of the aforementioned authorization and they must complete the process. The Transportation Superintendence is carrying out monitoring, surveillance and control functions.
Does the TAG have any cost for the user? We see that some charge it and others give it away…
The TAG is a device that allows the identification of any vehicle when paying the toll.
It is important to point out that the purchase or TAG acquisition corresponds solely to a commercial relationship between the user and the intermediary. Some brokers choose to cash it out and others choose to give it away, depending on their trading strategies. The important thing is that everyone must offer a basic plan in which the electronic toll payment service can be accessed without additional costs other than the value of the TAG.
Here I want to take the opportunity to invite all citizens interested in acquiring the TAG to verify very well the type of product that they are acquiring and the conditions of use that they are accepting, since the companies offer different service packages through these TAGs. The Ministry of Transport does not have any type of interference in the charges, conditions or services offered by the companies, other than the electronic payment of the toll through their TAGs.
How to use Colpass the differential rates that some trips in the country have?
Once the toll that has the differential rate benefit has Colpass, the operator of said toll must inform the intermediaries so that they collect the corresponding value; Similarly, the operator must also inform users when the benefit is active. In case of paying the full rate, it is important to clarify that there will be no retroactive effect.
(Lee here: Inflation, oil and taxes make 2023 look difficult: Avianca).
How does it work?
The first thing to do is getl TAG, which is the device that is placed on the windshield of the car. It can be requested by calling the telephone lines, by WhatsApp or from the internet pages of the intermediaries. Some give it away, and others charge. In AppStore or PlayStore download the application, enter your data. There are prepaid, postpaid and autoload options.
Other user concerns
Can you have several TAGs?
As long as there is no national coverage and universal identification system that reads any of the chips, It is valid for those who need it, since their routes are not all covered, having several chips in their car. What can happen is that if there are readers from various systems in a toll booth, it is possible that there will be a double charge if the chips activate the signal independently.
Are the payment systems variable?
The collection is made when the vehicle passes.
Yes. Each operator offers different payment mechanisms. Some automatically charge the debit to a checking or savings account and the collection is made when the vehicle passes. In some operators it is offered only with charge to a certain bank with which they have an agreement, and this limits the process. Others require a prior deposit through electronic means, in such a way that the user’s money is in the operator’s account as long as it is not downloaded when passing the stations.
(Keep reading: Colombia closes the year with a drop in consumer confidence).
These occasions usually have a minimum quota and alerts on cell phones when it is drunk, to prevent the member from reaching the station and not being able to pass expeditiously while paying in cash.
Is the TAG transportable between vehicles?
In principle no, because it must be attached to the windshield in previously indicated places so that there is no interference in the readings. The TAG is assigned to a license plate when the user registers it, but there is no physical or electronic identification of the passing vehicle. Therefore, the chip could be moved from one car to another if it has not been attached, but in reality it is not worth it, since those who collect it ask for 20,000 pesos or give it away and it is more functional to have several assets.
More news
This is how Colpass works: electronic payment at tolls
Why don’t full reservoirs lower electricity rates?
According to Ipsos, 51.3 percent of Colombians believe that 2022 was a bad year
The international driving permit: how is it processed in Colombia?
Vehicles