Automatic toll monitoring system and method

A toll system, comprising:

• a mobile device operating a tolling application program;
• a toll agency data center;
• wherein when the mobile device determines that a user is logging out of the tolling application program, the tolling application program captures a snapshot of application permissions, and transmits a message to the toll agency management data center including the message which indicates the application permission and that the user has logged out of the tolling application program;
• and
• in response to the toll agency data center receiving the message, the toll agency data center transmits a message to the mobile device to prompt the user to sign back into the tolling application program.

A toll system, comprising:

• a mobile device operating a tolling application program;
• a toll agency data center;
• wherein when the tolling application determines that a permission is been removed, the tolling application program transmits a message to the toll agency management data center including the message which indicates the application permission had been removed;
• in response to the toll
• agency data center receiving the message, the toll agency data center transmits a message to the mobile device to prompt the user to enable back the removed permission into the tolling application program.

A toll system, comprising:

• a plurality of mobile devices, each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices operating a tolling application program in association with a respective tolling account;
• a toll agency data center that maintains each respective tolling account;
• wherein each mobile device of the plurality of mobile device is configured to detect when it is in the presence of a vehicle associated with the respective tolling account and when the vehicle has begun a trip based on a change in location of the mobile device while in the presence of the vehicle, and to determine when the trip has ended and record a location of the vehicle upon determining that the trip has ended;
• and
• wherein each mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices is further configured to, upon detecting the commencement of a new trip, compare a location of the vehicle at the commencement of the new trip with the location of the vehicle at the end of the preceding trip, and when these locations do not sufficiently match, prompt the user to use the mobile device to capture a vehicle odometer image through the tolling application program.

A toll system, comprising a mobile device operating a tolling application program;

• a toll agency data center;
• wherein the mobile device is configured to connect to an external device using a low power personal area wireless networking link and continue to report location information to the toll agency data center;
• wherein the toll agency data center is configured to determine a time period that the mobile device has been connected to the external device;
• and
• wherein the toll agency data center is further configured to determine that the mobile device has been connected to the external device for a threshold period of time indicating that the external device is not a component of a vehicle, and in response, prompt a user of the mobile phone to capture an odometer image of the vehicle while connected to a different external device that is assumed to be the vehicle.