Is ETC mandatory to apply for?
1 Answers
It is not mandatory to apply for ETC. Vehicles without ETC can still use highways. According to the regulations of 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 on highways immediately; they need to be activated first. During free holiday periods, vehicles with ETC can still use highways, and ETC users passing through ETC lanes will not be charged. ETC Deduction Principle: There will be one or more ETC lanes on highways. Through dedicated short-range microwave communication between the on-board electronic tag installed on the vehicle's windshield and the microwave antenna in the ETC lane at the toll station, the computer network technology is used to settle accounts with banks in the background. This achieves the purpose of vehicles not needing to stop at toll stations to pay tolls, all based on the principle of passing first and deducting fees later. Benefits of Installing ETC: Time-saving: Eliminates the hassle of waiting in line; Green and environmentally friendly: Green and low-carbon, vehicles passing through toll stations without stopping can reduce noise and exhaust emissions, minimizing pollution; Reduced wear and tear: Saves costs, reduces the frequency of vehicle starts and brakes, lowers wear and fuel consumption, and users can also enjoy a 5% discount on tolls; Improved efficiency: The efficiency of vehicles passing through ETC lanes can theoretically increase by 2-3 times, making traditional ETC more updated, 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 achieved, and the proportion of vehicles equipped with ETC will be significantly increased." It also explicitly set the goal of "achieving a 50% ETC usage rate for road passenger vehicles by 2020" in the main indicators of comprehensive transportation development during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period. More future possibilities: In addition to continuously improving the convenience of ETC installation and usage and the ETC usage rate for passenger vehicles, efforts will be made to promote the use of ETC for trucks in the future. The deep integration of the ETC system with vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-road coordination, and other smart transportation development directions will be explored to provide car owners with comprehensive travel services. This means more application scenarios will support ETC applications.
