Can you still drive on highways without ETC in the future?
1 Answers
It is possible to drive on highways without ETC. According to the State Council's regulations, starting from 2020, vehicles without ETC will not enjoy toll discounts. In the future, only one manual lane will be retained at highway toll stations, and tolls can only be paid through manual channels. Additionally, newly installed ETC devices cannot be used on highways immediately; they must be activated first. During holiday free-toll periods, vehicles can still use highways. For users who have already installed ETC, passing through ETC lanes will not incur charges. The principle of ETC toll deduction: Highways will have one or more ETC lanes. Through dedicated short-range microwave communication between the vehicle's electronic tag installed on the windshield and the microwave antenna in the ETC lane at the toll station, the system uses computer networking technology to settle payments with banks in the background. This allows vehicles to pay tolls without stopping at the toll station, all based on the principle of "pass first, deduct later." Benefits of installing ETC: Time-saving: Eliminates the hassle of waiting in line; Green and eco-friendly: Promotes low-carbon travel by reducing noise and exhaust emissions since vehicles do not need to stop at toll stations; Reduced wear and tear: Saves costs by minimizing frequent starts and stops, lowering vehicle wear and fuel consumption. Users also enjoy a 5% discount on tolls; Improved efficiency: ETC lanes can theoretically increase traffic efficiency by 2-3 times, making traditional ETC systems more advanced, faster, and higher-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 Comprehensive Transportation System" that "by 2020, intercity transportation cards will be widely used 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 passenger vehicles on roads should 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 of deep integration between ETC systems and 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.
