Is ETC Mandatory for Highway Travel in the Future?
1 Answers
Vehicles without ETC can still use manual lanes to enter highways. According to regulations from the State Council, 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 lanes. Additionally, newly installed ETC devices cannot be used immediately for highway travel; they must be activated first. During free holiday periods, highway travel is still permitted. For users with activated ETC, passing through ETC lanes will not incur charges. ETC Billing Principle: Highways will have one or more ETC lanes. Using dedicated short-range microwave communication between the onboard electronic tag installed on the vehicle's windshield and the microwave antenna in the ETC lane at the toll station, along with computer networking technology for backend bank settlements, vehicles can pay tolls without stopping at the toll booth. This is based on the principle of 'pass first, deduct later.' Benefits of Installing ETC: Time-saving: Eliminates the hassle of waiting in queues; 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 the frequency of vehicle starts and brakes, thereby lowering wear and fuel consumption; Improved efficiency: ETC lanes can theoretically increase traffic 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 Comprehensive Transportation System' that 'by 2020, intercity transportation smart cards should be widely implemented in key city clusters, and the proportion of vehicles using ETC should significantly increase.' The plan also set a target of 'achieving a 50% ETC usage rate for passenger vehicles on roads by 2020.' More future possibilities: Beyond continuously improving the convenience of ETC installation and usage rates for passenger vehicles, future efforts will include promoting ETC for trucks and exploring deeper integration of ETC systems with smart transportation developments like vehicle-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-to-infrastructure coordination. This will provide comprehensive travel services for vehicle owners, meaning more application scenarios will support ETC usage.
