The Sem Parar electronic system reads the identification card on the car window and automatically releases the passage through the gates of the toll plazas. The process takes seconds to complete. The contraption registers date, time, square and the cost of the toll. Thereafter, the fee bill is sent to the customer’s home each month, along with the credit card statement. If the driver tries to be smart to avoid paying, and sticks behind a car that is in the Sem Parar line, the system identifies the vehicle without the sensor on the glass. From there, a signal is sent to the camera, which photographs the side and rear of the car. With the license plate data, the runaway driver receives a fine by mail. The system operates on 22 lanes in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, on roads such as the Bandeirantes highway. Some malls in São Paulo also have the system. In Rio, the Yellow Line, which has the largest toll plaza in the country, with 20 booths, has a similar system, the Passe Expresso.
In addition to the collection booths, the toll plaza has a cafeteria and even an underground tunnel.
VIP PASS
With Sem Parar, the driver gains an electronic chip, which is attached to the front window. Using radiofrequency waves, an antenna at the top of the toll booth reads the data from the chip and sends it to a central station. If the owner of the car is up to date with the bills, a green light comes on and, voilà, the gate opens
SURPRISE BOX
The cabin where the employees stay has an opening in the floor that leads to a tunnel (see Grana at the End of the Tunnel). Other than that, there is a computer connected to the network, receipt printer, radio communication, equipment for receiving toll tickets and an alarm system. And, of course, air conditioning, which nobody is made of iron
STICKS ROW
As most highways only accept cash or toll vouchers (used by trucks), it turns and moves someone arrives at the booth with no money. In this case, the driver is obliged to return home, escorted by a Highway Police vehicle. It is worth remembering that toll evasion is an infraction of the traffic code, that is, a fine
1001 UTILITIES
The buildings on the side of the road, next to the toll plazas, are good for everything. There are rooms for the administrative area, cafeteria, restrooms, place to rest and TV room. In some dealerships, there are even labor gymnastics classes to de-stress the people who work there
MONEY AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
On some highways, there are underground corridors or pneumatic ducts to transport the money. The money is then sent to the safe and then collected by the armored car. Only coins and low-value bills are left in the booths to give change. Employees also use the tunnels to enter the cabins.
FREE PASS
Some vehicles can pass free, light and loose through the toll booth. In the state of São Paulo, for example, this privilege is given to official government ambulances and vehicles, Military Police cars, firefighters, Highway Police and military vehicles. Some highways also exempt motorcycles from charging
BACK AND BACK
For the tollbooths that are far from the cities, companies usually provide chartered buses to take and pick up employees in the three work shifts, every eight hours. The bus that takes the afternoon team is the same one that brings back the people who worked in the morning
GETTING INTO THE AXES
Depending on the road, there are optical sensors on the ground and on the sides of the lane that calculate how many axles those big trucks, like storks, have – the more axles, the more expensive the toll value. But on more modest roads the count is done by eye.