TransCore, a US-based provider of transport solutions, has introduced its new Nationalpass technology, an interoperable toll service.

This new technology allows motorists to travel across on toll roads of several regions by using one transponder and account, reported Tollroadsnews.com.

Nationalpass was developed in response to Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), which requires highway toll facilities receiving federal aid to implement technologies that facilitate interoperability of electronic toll collection by 1 October.

"Nationalpass uses the existing infrastructure in place at toll facilities across the nation, resulting in no additional costs for the agencies and seamless travel for the motorists."

TransCore president Tracy Marks was quoted by Tollroadsnews.com as saying: "Having provided services in the tolling industry for over 80 years, TransCore always tries to focus on providing practical, innovative solutions that are beneficial to our toll agency customers and the traveling public.

"We realised soon after the MAP-21 legislation was signed into law that the only practical solution to the interoperability requirement was to develop a transponder that worked with all the tolling systems already in place today."

Currently, TransCore is offering Nationalpass to individuals closely associated with the national interoperability initiative. The service will be available for public from July.

Marks added: "Obviously, tolling agencies have a financial responsibility to the public they serve and there are hundreds of millions of dollars already invested in the infrastructure that supports their electronic tolling operations.

"Replacing or modifying this existing technology across all toll agencies simply wasn’t a realistic option.

"Nationalpass uses the existing infrastructure in place at toll facilities across the nation, resulting in no additional costs for the agencies and seamless travel for the motorists.

"We realised the only practical solution to the interoperability requirement was to develop a transponder that worked with all the tolling systems already in place today."