Chile's highway concessionaires are looking to expand the use of the electronic toll collection device known as TAG, the president of local concessionaires association Copsa, Herman Chadwick, told BNamericas.

Concessionaires will increase the use of the TAG - currently employed for automatic toll charging along capital Santiago's concessioned highways - by embedding further technology that will allow the device to charge for public parking lots and parking services in shopping centers, said Chadwick.

Concessionaires are currently working with the public works ministry (MOP) to implement the TAG to charge tolls on all of the country's concessioned highways, unifying the billing system so that users are sent one single bill.

The firms are also looking at how to implement new uses for the TAG device, studying the cost of these changes and evaluating new growth opportunities, said Chadwick.

TAGs will also be used as safety devices, allowing residents to enter parking areas in their houses and apartment buildings, Chadwick added.

According to the Copsa president, in the near future people will only need three main devices when leaving their homes: a cell phone that allows them to make calls and connect to the internet; a bank card to withdraw money from accounts and make payments in stores; and the TAG device, to use roads and access parking lots.