Are parking lot ETC and highway ETC the same?
2 Answers
Parking lot ETC and highway ETC are the same. The following are specific explanations about ETC: 1. Meaning: ETC is an electronic toll collection system that does not require stopping. The ETC dedicated lane is used for vehicles equipped with ETC on-board units, adopting electronic toll collection methods. 2. Development Status: ETC is an electronic automatic toll collection system for highways, bridges, and tunnels that is being actively developed and promoted internationally. This technology has a long development history abroad, and electronic toll collection systems in many countries and regions such as the United States and Europe have been partially networked and gradually formed economies of scale. In China, the highway toll collection system, which mainly uses IC cards and magnetic cards as media and adopts manual toll collection methods, is undoubtedly influenced by this trend.
I've been driving for many years and have used ETC many times. Parking lot ETC and highway ETC are actually not exactly the same. Highway ETC is a nationwide unified system, and once the device is installed, it automatically deducts fees, which is very convenient, and most toll stations support it. As for parking lot ETC, it's only available in some large parking lots or shopping centers, and the payment accounts may not be universal. I once encountered a supermarket parking lot where the credit card linked to its ETC was different from my highway account, requiring separate setup. Technically, both are based on RFID tag automatic identification, but they are used in different scenarios: highways cover the entire highway network, while parking lots are just local small-scale areas with lower popularity. Additionally, device compatibility depends on the parking lot's signage; some may require device upgrades or downloading an auxiliary app. In short, the concept is similar, but there are differences in actual use, so it's best to check the instructions in advance to avoid payment issues.
