How it began
Via Verde, which means "green lane," was introduced by the Portuguese motorway operator Brisa. The first machines were installed in 1991 at four toll plazas in the Lisbon area, and the system has been in use since April of that year. They worked by detecting a box in the windshield of drivers who had subscribed, and the fee was deducted automatically from the subscriber's account. In 1995 the system was extended to all toll plazas in Portugal.
How it works
A tag fixed to the windshield sends its identifier by short-range radio as the car passes through a non-stop lane, and the toll is debited directly from the customer's bank account. Sensors in the lane check the class of the vehicle against the class stored in the tag. If the tag is missing or invalid, or the classes do not match, the vehicle is photographed. The system has been shown to work at speeds above 200 kilometers per hour.
What changed first
Via Verde was the first electronic toll system to be applied to every toll in a country. It gained wide use mainly because it could work with any bank in Portugal through the country's integrated interbank network, known as Multibanco. By the first half of 1997 Via Verde subscriptions accounted for about one third of Brisa's revenues.
Where it stands today
The same tag now pays for other services. In 2002 Brisa set up a company whose first projects let drivers pay electronically at gas stations and parking lots, and the tag is accepted at many car parks, including at Lisbon Airport. Since 2010 some Portuguese highways have used electronic tolling only, with no cash payment possible.
