Carma Wins Global Innovation Toll Excellence Award
Irish-founded company's car occupancy verification technology eliminates roadside enforcement need and is awarded for innovation from tolling industry's highest honour for private companies
CORK, Ireland and AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Carma, a smart mobility technology company with origins in Cork, and global offices in Cork, Austin, San Francisco and Washington D.C., announced that it has been awarded the Toll Excellence Award for innovation from the worldwide tolling industry group The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA).
The company's GoCarma smartphone app, which enables 45,000 daily commuters in Dallas-Fort Worth to qualify for high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) toll discounts, has become a global industry-leading case study, and is now recognised by IBTTA with its highest honour for private companies.
"Carma's groundbreaking technology makes it easier for toll operators to keep track of high-occupancy vehicle drivers and reward them for doing their part for the environment. Here in the U.S., where Carma has successfully deployed its technology already, HOV drivers are now reliably identified and tolled at half the rate of other drivers," said Mark Compton, CEO of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and IBTTA president. "Automating the process of verifying occupancy on these roadways also eliminates the need for roadside enforcement, which makes the road safer and less congested. All in all, this is an innovative solution that we're sure will catch on among tolling operators globally."
GoCarma gives drivers in Dallas-Fort Worth, America's fourth largest metropolitan area, a simple way to qualify for HOV toll discounts. GoCarma activates automatically on qualifying roadways and confirms the proximity of at least two GoCarma users traveling in the vehicle. Only those vehicles that are verified as having at least two occupants qualify for a 50% toll discount.
GoCarma also provides regional transportation authorities with the ability to create other incentives that increase vehicle occupancy, reduce congestion, and encourage a reduction in peak period commuting. The GoCarma app is an important tool in helping the Dallas-Fort Worth region meet its goal of reducing vehicle miles travelled by 20%.
"Our automatic occupancy verification technology is just one example of how Carma is committed to finding novel solutions to some of the tolling industry's most entrenched challenges. Our goal is to make roadways as easy to operate as they are to drive on," said Lawrence Mulligan, CEO of Carma. "We're honoured to receive global recognition from IBTTA for creating an innovative solution that will improve safety, reduce congestion and lower costs for drivers while giving toll operators a more reliable way to manage HOV lanes."
Recently confirmed as one of the top climate tech investments in Sean O'Sullivan's SOSV portfolio, Carma is now working with other government partners to bring its patented GoCarma technology to other metropolitan areas in the United States and Europe. By enabling agencies to reliably reward HOVs without investing in infrastructure, GoCarma is an impactful and efficient tool for reducing congestion and emissions that can be rapidly deployed anywhere.
"Governments everywhere are looking for ways to rapidly reduce vehicle emissions and the twice-daily tidal wave of traffic congestion that afflicts our cities," said Emmett Murphy, Chief Product Officer of Carma. "Our government partners in the United States are proving that the simplest way to do this is to price roads more favourably for those who choose to travel together instead of driving alone. For the first time, GoCarma makes this easy for agencies and commuters alike - whether for toll discounts, carpool lane verification, or smartphone-based congestion pricing."
IBTTA's annual Toll Excellence Awards highlights the most outstanding, unprecedented projects, innovations and solutions from the international tolling industry. For more information about the Toll Excellence Awards, visit here.
About Carma Technology Corporation
Carma is a global industry leader in smartphone technology for high occupancy vehicle verification, GPS tolling, road user charging, and dynamic road pricing. For more than a decade, Carma has been a trusted partner of government agencies in incentivising more efficient travel behaviour, without traditional roadside infrastructure. Carma's patented technology has verified tens of millions of road transactions while saving commuters time and money on their commute. Carma's latest app, GoCarma, is used by more than 45,000 daily commuters to qualify for HOV toll discounts on Dallas-Fort Worth TEXpress Lanes during weekday peak periods. For more information, visit www.gocarma.com/media.
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