Can ETC be unused after installation?
1 Answers
It is possible to install ETC without using it. According to Article 19 of the "Notice on Vigorously Promoting the Development and Application of ETC on Expressways" issued by the State Council, vehicles that have not applied for or do not use ETC by 2020 will not enjoy toll discounts. In the future, only one manual lane will be retained at expressway toll stations, and tolls can only be paid through manual channels. How ETC works: Through dedicated short-range communication between the onboard electronic tag installed on the vehicle's windshield and the microwave antenna in the ETC lane at the toll station, computer networking technology is used to perform backend settlement processing with banks. This achieves the goal of vehicles passing through expressway or bridge toll stations without stopping while still paying the toll. ETC deduction principles: For ETC vehicles, the toll amount is rounded according to the "round down below 0.5, no action for 0.5 or above" rule (i.e., amounts with a decimal less than 0.5 are rounded down, while decimals of 0.5 or more remain unchanged). After applying a 5% discount, the amount is then rounded to the nearest cent. MTC vehicles still follow the "round to the nearest yuan" rule. All 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 eco-friendly: Low-carbon, as vehicles pass through toll stations without stopping, reducing noise and exhaust emissions and minimizing pollution; Reduce wear and tear: Saves costs by decreasing the frequency of vehicle starts and stops, lowering wear and fuel consumption; Improve efficiency: Theoretically, ETC lanes can increase passing efficiency by 2-3 times, making traditional ETC faster, more advanced, 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, intercity transportation card interoperability will be basically achieved in key city clusters, and the proportion of vehicles equipped with ETC will significantly increase." It also set a target in the "13th Five-Year" comprehensive transportation development indicators: "By 2020, the ETC usage rate for road passenger vehicles should reach 50%." More future possibilities: In addition to continuously improving the convenience of ETC installation and usage rates for passenger vehicles, the future will also promote ETC usage for trucks and explore deeper integration of ETC systems with smart transportation directions such as vehicle-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-road coordination, providing comprehensive travel services for car owners. This means more application scenarios will support ETC usage.
