Macedonia prepares “Free-Flow” toll system, with rollout expected next year

A digital toll payment system is expected to be introduced in Macedonia for the first time next year. Under the “Free-Flow” system, vehicles will be able to pass through toll points without stopping: cameras will identify their license plates, while electronic TAG devices will also be used.

Koce Trajanovski, director of the Public Enterprise “State Roads,” told TVM2 that the enterprise is working intensively to introduce modern European digital standards for toll payments. He said the first step would be a pilot project for heavy vehicles, specifically trucks. The public enterprise plans to install specialized cameras along the roads, similar to those used in the “Safe City” system. The cameras will identify vehicles and record their passage so that tolls can be calculated without drivers having to stop at a toll point.

Trajanovski explained that initially including only trucks, rather than passenger vehicles, is intended to prevent toll evasion. He cited the Petrovec toll point as an example: near Idrizovo, many vehicles leave the highway and take the regional road through Petrovec and Rzhanichino to Katlanovo, where they rejoin the highway. As a result, he said, they avoid paying the toll, damage a road not designed for heavy vehicles and trucks, and seriously endanger local residents. The director said the project aims to stop these practices and require transport operators to pay. He added that the introduction of “Free-Flow” alongside the TAG system would also be considered in Milladinov, where the TAG system is currently unavailable.

Payment through registered TAG devices and camera-based license plate recognition is planned to be introduced first on new state roads that will open to traffic. The system is later expected to expand to Corridor 10 and toward Tetovo. Trajanovski said the new roads currently under construction have no tolls, while tolls are charged on Corridor 10. He could not say whether the next phase would be implemented in one or two years and stressed that it is not yet known whether the new system will be cheaper or more expensive for citizens. What matters, he said, is that payments will no longer be made as they are now.

This method of payment is being partially tested in Serbia, while Croatia has made further progress in implementing it.