Is it mandatory to install ETC?
1 Answers
It is not mandatory but encouraged for vehicle owners to install ETC. According to the State Council's regulations, vehicles without ETC installed by 2020 will not enjoy toll discounts. In the future, only one manual lane will be retained at highway toll stations, and vehicles can only pay tolls through manual lanes. Additionally, newly installed ETC devices cannot be used on highways immediately; they must be activated first. During free holiday periods, vehicles with ETC can still use highways, and no fees will be deducted for ETC users passing through ETC lanes. The principle of ETC fee deduction: There will be one or more ETC lanes on highways. Through microwave-specific 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, and using computer networking technology for backend settlement with banks, the purpose of vehicles not needing to stop at toll stations to pay road and bridge fees is achieved. 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 line; Green and eco-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, lowering wear and fuel consumption; Improved efficiency: The theoretical efficiency of ETC lanes can be increased by 2-3 times or more, 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 significantly increase." It also explicitly set the goal in the main indicators of the "13th Five-Year" comprehensive transportation development: "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 and the ETC usage rate for passenger vehicles, efforts will be made to promote the use of ETC for trucks in the future. Exploration will be conducted for the deep integration of the ETC system with the development directions of smart transportation, such as vehicle-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-road coordination, to provide vehicle owners with comprehensive travel services. This means more application scenarios will support ETC applications.
