Are vehicles with seven seats or fewer free, including seven-seaters?
3 Answers
Seven seats or fewer are free, including seven-seaters. Below is a detailed introduction: Regulation Introduction: China's Expressway Network Office stipulates that expressways are toll-free during major holidays. Vehicles with seven seats or fewer (including seven-seaters) are exempt from tolls, while other vehicles are not. This means that seven-seaters and vehicles with fewer seats are toll-free. Toll-Free Period: The toll-free periods include four national statutory holidays: Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Labor Day, and National Day. The free period starts at 00:00 on the first day of the holiday and ends at 24:00 on the last day of the holiday (for ordinary roads, the time is based on when the vehicle passes the toll booth lane; for expressways, the time is based on when the vehicle exits the toll booth lane).
Last time I drove a 7-seater SUV on the highway to get home during the toll-free period, I specifically checked the policy, and indeed, 7-seater vehicles are exempt. During holidays, the toll-free policy applies to passenger vehicles with seven seats or fewer, including minivans and family MPVs. However, it's important to note that pickup trucks or mixed passenger-cargo vehicles, even with five seats, are not eligible for the exemption. The key is to check the vehicle type on the registration certificate. Once, I drove a friend's 8-seater business van and had to pay the toll, so it's best to confirm the seating capacity on the registration before setting off. The toll-free periods are usually the first and last two days of the holiday, but the exact dates depend on the annual notice. If you're driving a 7-seater vehicle registered under a company name, you might still have to pay, so it's advisable to call 12123 in advance to clarify.
I have experience saving on tolls when driving on highways. Seven-seater vehicles are treated the same as five-seaters under the free toll policy. The key lies in two strict criteria: the vehicle registration must be categorized as a passenger car with no more than seven seats. For example, my seven-seater Odyssey gets free tolls every Spring Festival when I drive home, but my neighbor's eight-seater Alphard doesn't qualify. There's a small catch: some modified seven-seater vehicles might run into issues if the seat count on the registration hasn't been updated. Also, the free period isn't the entire holiday—implementation times may vary by province, so it's best to check local traffic radio before setting off. With ETC now widely used, eligible vehicles will have the barrier automatically lifted when passing through.
