Can a company-owned vehicle apply for a personal ETC?
2 Answers
A company-owned vehicle can apply for a personal ETC. According to the "Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Application Service of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) on Highways" issued by the Ministry of Transport, the required materials for ETC application include: business license or organization code certificate; ID card of the handler; original and photocopy of the vehicle registration certificate; company seal or an official letter with the company seal; taxpayer identification number of the national tax, if there is no tax number, it can be registered as "no tax number" during the application process; original vehicle registration certificate. ETC charging principle: There will be one or more ETC lanes on the highway. Through the dedicated short-range microwave communication between the vehicle-mounted electronic tag installed on the windshield and the microwave antenna in the ETC lane of the toll station, and using computer networking technology for back-end settlement with the bank, the purpose of paying road and bridge tolls without stopping at the toll station is achieved. All of this is based on the principle of passing first and deducting fees later. Benefits of installing ETC: Save time: eliminates the hassle of waiting in line; Green and environmentally friendly: green and low-carbon, vehicles pass through toll stations without stopping, reducing noise and exhaust emissions, and minimizing pollution; Save on wear and tear: reduces costs, decreases the frequency of vehicle starts and brakes, lowers wear and fuel consumption, and users can enjoy a 5% discount on toll fees; Improve efficiency: the theoretical efficiency of ETC lanes can be increased by 2-3 times, making traditional ETC updates faster and more high-tech. Compared to license plate payment, ETC technology is more mature and advantageous. More policy support: The State Council clearly stated in the "13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a Modern Comprehensive Transportation System" that "by 2020, the interoperability of transportation cards in key city clusters will be basically realized, and the proportion of vehicles equipped with ETC will be significantly increased," and set a target in the "13th Five-Year" comprehensive transportation development indicators that "by 2020, the ETC usage rate for road passenger vehicles will reach 50%". More future possibilities: In addition to continuously improving the convenience of ETC installation and usage and the ETC usage rate for passenger vehicles, the future will also promote the use of ETC for trucks, explore the deep integration of the ETC system with vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-road coordination, and other smart transportation development directions, providing comprehensive travel services for car owners. This means more application scenarios will support ETC applications. ETC usage precautions: The ETC transaction sensing area is 8 meters. When encountering a vehicle in front that stops, to prevent the ETC device of the front vehicle from malfunctioning or not having an ETC device at all, keep a distance of more than 10 meters from the front vehicle to avoid automatically sensing and paying for the front vehicle. The recognition speed for ETC lane passage is 20km/h. If the speed is too fast, the vehicle device information cannot be read, which will also lead to charging failure. Unauthorized disassembly or movement of the OBU device, or detachment or loosening of the ETC electronic tag, will cause the electronic tag to fail. It can be sent to the bank where the ETC card was issued or the highway service office for testing. If the loosening or detachment is not man-made, it only needs to be reactivated. When using a debit card bound to ETC, insufficient balance will also lead to charging failure. Follow the guidance of on-site staff to go to the manual MTC lane and pass using cash or card. If the car windshield is too thick, it may cause poor sensing. Especially for vehicles that have had accidents and had their windshields replaced, or for friends who have modified their front windshields, need to pay attention.
Well, as someone who frequently drives company vehicles, I have to say this is quite common. Generally speaking, company-owned vehicles cannot directly apply for ETC under a personal name, because the ETC account must be linked to the vehicle's ownership. The car is company property, so the system checks the owner information on the vehicle registration certificate. If you insist on binding it to a personal account, you might get stuck in the paperwork. I tried it before, and the bank required a company-stamped authorization letter, along with a copy of the business license—the process was much more troublesome. However, the upside is that if the company agrees to apply for ETC, it’s very convenient for personal use, like getting discounts on highway tolls and saving a lot of hassle. My suggestion is to let the company’s administrative staff handle it directly or apply using the company’s corporate account to avoid unnecessary personal effort. In short, communicate clearly in advance—don’t try to cut corners by using your own name.
