Audi Launching Vehicle-integrated Toll Technology in North America

Depending on where you live, toll roads might be a significant part of your driving life. There are a few ways to handle these moderate annoyances. You can carefully plot your course to avoid them, adding time to the journey and eventually trapping yourself in a situation where you’re scrambling to find enough change under your seat to appease I-95. However, a better solution would probably be to have some cash on hand, or maybe pick up one of those ugly boxes used for electronic toll collection.

E-ZPass, QuickPass, SunPas FasTrak, TxTag, and every other electronic collection measure require that you adhere a card or unsightly hunk of plastic to your vehicle’s windshield. While they don’t take up a lot of space, their placement can sometimes impede visibility and the cheap white plastic is bit of an eyesore — especially in a well-appointed interior.

Audi says it’s through with them and plans to launch an automated toll payment technology, integrated in the car’s rear-view mirror, for North American models. It might be one of the most mundane problems currently facing motorists, but somebody had to solve it.

Using hardware supplied by Gentex Corporation, Audi’s toll system allows drivers to manage tolling for multiple accounts via their infotainment system. That’s especially good news for drivers on the east coast who may have several electronic collection systems stuck to the windshield.

The automaker has said the module is compatible with 98 percent of the toll infrastructure within the United States, as well as some toll roads in Canada and Mexico. The system can also be turned on or off in-car or modified to set the vehicle up for tolling in high-occupancy lanes.

Audi isn’t ready to say which vehicles will get the technology first. But we’d expect it to be on most of the higher-end models later this year. A spokesperson from Audi says the intent is to eventually see integrated tolling appear as a feature on all models.

[Image: Audi]