Toll Administration Center - Payment Administration Functionality
Subsystem Description
The Payment Administration Subsystem (PAS) provides general payment administration capabilities and supports the electronic transfer of authenticated funds from the customer to the transportation system operator or other service provider. Charges can be recorded for tolls, vehicle-mileage charging, congestion charging, or other goods and services. This subsystem supports traveler enrollment and collection of both pre-payment and post-payment transportation fees in coordination with the existing, and evolving financial infrastructure supporting electronic payment transactions. The system may establish and administer escrow accounts depending on the clearinghouse scheme and the type of payments involved. This subsystem posts a transaction to the customer account and generates a bill (for post-payment accounts), debits an escrow account, or interfaces to the financial infrastructure to debit a customer designated account. It supports communications with the Roadway Payment Subsystem to support fee collection operations. As an alternative, a wide-area wireless interface can be used to communicate directly with vehicle equipment. The subsystem also sets and administers the pricing structures and includes the capability to implement road pricing policies in coordination with the Traffic Management Subsystem. The electronic financial transactions in which this subsystem is an intermediary between the customer and the financial infrastructure shall be cryptographically protected and authenticated to preserve privacy and ensure authenticity and auditability.