A pioneering tech has helped reshape urban mobility in Chile—and set the pace for Latin America’s smart traffic future.
In the early 2000s, daily commutes in Santiago could often stretch to two hours—until digital innovation dramatically cut that time. “With our technology, we eliminated the need for toll barriers at the urban highways, now allowing commuters to move from home to work in 15 minutes,” says Ramiro Virreira, Senior Executive Vice President for Latin America at Kapsch TrafficCom. That leap forward positioned Chile as a global pioneer in free-flow tolling systems—and marked a turning point for modern mobility management in Latin America.
Kapsch TrafficCom, an Austrian family company with more 130 years of history, specializes in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Globally, the company operates across four regions—North America, Europe/EMEA, Asia-Pacific and Latin America—with Virreira leading the Latin American division.
In Chile, Kapsch helped usher in a new era with multilane free-flow tolling technology—allowing vehicles to pass through toll points without having to stop or reduce speed. “Chile was actually the second country in the world to install free-flow tolling systems across urban areas,” Virreira explains. “And with that, a positive impact for mobility—by eliminating barriers while making it safer to travel because you don’t have to stop at toll gates.”
Today, Kapsch’s systems facilitate more than three million toll transactions daily across Chile’s highways. But the company’s ambitions stretch beyond highways, as the flow into and out of them must also be addressed. “If urban traffic is not coordinated, cities can collapse,” he says. “As such, we want to foster a better alignment between cities and highways.” To that end, Kapsch has been developing and implementing urban traffic management systems—such as centralized control of traffic lights and vehicle flow—to major cities worldwide, including Buenos Aires and Madrid. The company believes Chilean cities can also benefit from this vision.
Expanding its technology to new countries presents Kapsch with challenges that go beyond implementation. The company is often asked to advise governments, transportation agencies and foreign concessioners. In these interactions, Chile’s successful model has helped raise awareness across Latin America. Now, Kapsch’s free-flow tolling technology is also being introduced in Brazil, with active efforts to expand it further in the region.
As Chile continues its journey toward barrier-free mobility and smarter urban infrastructure, Kapsch remains deeply dedicated. “We are proud to be in Chile. We are thankful to this great market that helped us to grow,” says Virreira. “We’re committed to continuing to invest here.”
From digital tolling to connected cities, Kapsch TrafficCom is leading the region toward a faster, safer and smarter transportation future.
Learn more about Kapsch TrafficCom at www.kapsch.net/en.
