Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) systems are based on tags, on-board units
associated to personal bank accounts, used for paying tolls electronically. Despite the
benefits associated to their use, acknowledged by public authorities among other stakeholders,
these systems are relentlessly penetrating as a means for paying the use of roads
worldwide. However, governments and infrastructure operators still have a great potential
to increase the effectiveness and expediency of these mechanisms. Previous literature in
this field has focused on analyzing users’ perceptions and willingness to pay to use toll
roads. However, there is still room for addressing additional aspects such as drivers’
adoption of ETC systems in these road networks allowing the payment of tolls electronically.
The aim of this paper is to identify the explanatory factors influencing the adoption
of ETC technologies by toll road drivers. To that end, we exploit a nationwide survey
conducted to road users in interurban toll roads in Spain, and develop a multilevel logit
framework to explore users’ adoption and position towards the use of electronic tolling.
The research concludes that drivers’ tag ownership is mainly related to trip-related attributes,
while personal socioeconomic characteristics play a minor role. Then, it is not
possible to establish specific socioeconomic user market segments to direct policy efforts
aimed at increasing the penetration of ETC. Furthermore, according to the results, delivering
tag devices for free would be an effective policy measure to encourage individuals
adopting electronic tolling and making additional use of toll roads, due to the benefits
provided by ETC systems.Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) systems are based on tags, on-board units
associated to personal bank accounts, used for paying tolls electronically. Despite the
benefits associated to their use, acknowledged by public authorities among other stakeholders,
these systems are relentlessly penetrating as a means for paying the use of roads
worldwide. However, governments and infrastructure operators still have a great potential
to increase the effectiveness and expediency of these mechanisms. Previous literature in
this field has focused on analyzing users’ perceptions and willingness to pay to use toll
roads. However, there is still room for addressing additional aspects such as drivers’
adoption of ETC systems in these road networks allowing the payment of tolls electronically.
The aim of this paper is to identify the explanatory factors influencing the adoption
of ETC technologies by toll road drivers. To that end, we exploit a nationwide survey
conducted to road users in interurban toll roads in Spain, and develop a multilevel logit
framework to explore users’ adoption and position towards the use of electronic tolling.
The research concludes that drivers’ tag ownership is mainly related to trip-related attributes,
while personal socioeconomic characteristics play a minor role. Then, it is not
possible to establish specific socioeconomic user market segments to direct policy efforts
aimed at increasing the penetration of ETC. Furthermore, according to the results, delivering
tag devices for free would be an effective policy measure to encourage individuals
adopting electronic tolling and making additional use of toll roads, due to the benefits
provided by ETC systems.

• Drivers’ adoption of electronic payment in the Spanish toll road network