RCI readies tender process

The second and final workshop between the RCI consortium and suppliers that previously submitted an Expression of Interest was successfully held at ERTICO in Brussels on 16 February 2006.

The purpose of the meeting was to prepare for the formal start of the tendering process that will result in the selection of industrial partners that will implement the RCI prototypes. This tender envolves the allocation of more than €4 million and is open exclusively to companies that submitted an Expression of Interest.

After a first contact workshop last December, comments and suggestions from the consultation with suppliers were evaluated by the RCI consortium in order to converge and establish consensus on an appropriate architecture and interface identification for interoperability that could contribute to the further definition of the Electronic European Tolling Service (EETS). The reason for this consultation is that the current EETS and its technical requirements for the onboard equipment (OBE) are not yet defined.

The European process of defining the EETS and its specifications has already resulted in several interesting recommendations. However, these recommendations do not constitute a complete set of specifications and they have not yet been accepted by all stakeholders. The conditions deemed necessary by the European Commission for realising such a seamless and interoperable road charging service were laid down in EC Directive 2004/52/EC and the definition of service itself, the Electronic European Tolling Service (EETS), is targeted by the EC for July 2006.