Can ETC be unused after installation?

[AmeliaLynn]

It is acceptable to have ETC installed but not use it. According to 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, expressway toll stations will retain only one manual lane, requiring vehicles to pay tolls 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, ETC utilizes computer networking technology for backend settlement processing with banks. This enables vehicles to pass through expressway or bridge toll stations without stopping while paying the required fees. ETC Billing Principle: For ETC vehicles, the toll amount is rounded using the "round down below 0.5, no action for 0.5 or above" method (i.e., amounts with a decimal less than 0.5 are rounded down, while those with a decimal 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" billing rule. All this is based on the principle of passing first and deducting fees later. Benefits of Installing ETC: Time-saving: Eliminates the hassle of waiting in queues; Green and eco-friendly: Promotes low-carbon travel by allowing vehicles to pass through toll stations without stopping, reducing noise and exhaust emissions, thereby minimizing pollution; Reduced wear and tear: Saves costs by decreasing the frequency of vehicle starts and stops, lowering wear and fuel consumption; Improved efficiency: Theoretically, ETC lanes can increase vehicle 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 explicitly stated in the "13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a Modern Integrated Transportation System" that "by 2020, the interoperability of transportation smart cards in key city clusters will be basically achieved, and the proportion of vehicles equipped with ETC will significantly increase." It also set a clear target in the "13th Five-Year" comprehensive transportation development indicators: "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 rates for passenger vehicles, efforts will be made to promote ETC usage for trucks in the future. There will also be exploration into deeper integration between the ETC system and smart transportation development directions such as vehicle-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-road coordination, providing comprehensive travel services for vehicle owners. This means more application scenarios will support ETC usage.

[StFinn]

Hey friend, you asked whether the installed ETC can be left unused. As an experienced driver, I tell you: Of course you can choose not to use it. It just stays quietly installed in your car without activation or inserting a card, causing no issues at all. After I installed ETC, there was a period when I barely used it, mainly because I drove mostly within the city and rarely took highways. But honestly, it’s a waste of convenience: at highway toll stations, you can skip the queue and pass directly, saving both money and fuel. The device is compact and doesn’t take up much space, so no need to worry about it being in the way; the card and device itself are durable, so leaving them idle won’t cause problems. My suggestion: don’t completely ignore it—try linking a small-balance card occasionally and keep some funds as backup. A related reminder: nowadays, ETC is also useful in some parking lots or new road sections. Once installed, give it a try—it might come in handy someday when you travel far. In short, installation is just the beginning; whether to use it is up to you, but leveraging it can make your driving life easier.