FSTech Receives Final System Acceptance for SR-91 Express Lanes Upgrade Project
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 11, 2011 -- Federal Signal Technologies (FSTech) today announced it has received Final System Acceptance for its upgrade of the in-lane toll collection system infrastructure on the 91 Express Lanes in Southern California. This upgrade project commenced in March, 2010.
The 91 Express Lanes is comprised of two 10-mile toll lanes in each direction in the median of California's Riverside Freeway (SR-91) between the Orange/Riverside county line and Costa Mesa Freeway (SR-55). This facility was the world's first fully automated, all-electronic tolling facility and the first application of variable value pricing based on traffic volume in the United States.
The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) awarded a contract to Sirit to implement a major system replacement in 2003. In March 2010, OCTA awarded a second contract to Sirit, now a FSTech company, to perform a complete upgrade to the latest state-of-the-art RFID technology. These modernized RFID readers will enable OCTA to utilize the advanced features of new switchable FasTrak(TM) transponders to be deployed as part of the LA Metro HOT ExpressLanes project. The enhancement also included digital automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) camera systems supplied by PIPS Technology, another FSTech business, for video enforcement of violators.
The FasTrak(TM) transponder -- a radio frequency identification (RFID) device mounted to the inside of a vehicle's windshield -- enables customers of the 91 Express Lanes to pay tolls from pre-paid accounts simply by driving in the lanes. This electronic toll collection technology ensures the free flow of traffic by eliminating the need to stop and pay tolls at traditional tollbooths.
"We are pleased to have successfully completed the project on time and on budget to meet the goals of OCTA and prepare the SR-91 for the future by deploying the latest proven RFID and camera technology. We also appreciate the opportunity to continue our successful relationship with a premier customer like OCTA. The support and confidence from OCTA was instrumental in completing this upgrade project. The SR-91 Express Lanes toll collection facility continues to be the industry's benchmark for system design and overall system performance," commented Manfred Rietsch, President of Federal Signal Technologies.
"The FSTech/Sirit team once again did a remarkable job for OCTA in completing the lane system upgrade on time and on budget while continuing to exceed the specifications for overall system performance and reliability. With the completion of this upgrade project, the 91 Express Lanes is positioned to take advantage of future technological developments and continue providing our patrons with the highest levels of service and convenience for years to come," said Kirk Avila, General Manager of the 91 Express Lanes.
About Federal Signal
Sirit and PIPS are business units of Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE: FSS), a leader in environmental, safety and transportation solutions. Sirit is a leading provider of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology worldwide. Harnessing the power of Sirit's enabling-RFID technology, customers are able to more rapidly bring high quality RFID solutions to the market with reduced initial engineering costs. Sirit's products are built on more than 16 years of RF domain expertise addressing multiple frequencies (LF/HF/UHF), multiple protocols and are compliant with global standards. Sirit's broad portfolio of products and capabilities can be customized to address new and traditional RFID market applications including Supply Chain & Logistics, Cashless Payment (including Electronic Tolling), Access Control, Automatic Vehicle Identification, Inventory Control & Management, Asset Tracking and Product Authentication. For more information, visit www.fstech.com/sirit.PIPS Technology is an industry leader in the development and manufacture of Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems. Our broad range of ALPR products provide the next generation of information technology for Travel Time Measurement, Law Enforcement, Tolling, Congestion Charging, Access Control, Traffic Monitoring and Automated Site Security Solutions. PIPS products are manufactured to ISO 9001:2000 standards. For more information, visit www.fstech.com/pips
SOURCE Federal Signal Technologies
CONTACT: William Barker, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Federal Signal, +1-630-954-2000, wbarker@federalsignal.com
Web Site: www.fstech.com
