Is it necessary to apply for an ETC card?

[Elaine]

It is necessary to apply for an ETC card. According to the regulations of the State Council, vehicles without ETC in 2020 will not enjoy toll discounts, and in the future, only one manual lane will be retained at highway toll stations, requiring manual payment of tolls. Additionally, newly installed ETC devices cannot be used on highways immediately; they need to be activated before normal use. During free holiday periods, ETC users can still use highways, and passing through ETC lanes will not incur charges. ETC Billing Principle: There will be one or more ETC lanes on highways. Through microwave-specific short-range communication between the vehicle-mounted electronic tag installed on the windshield and the microwave antenna in the ETC lane at the toll station, computer networking technology is used for backend settlement with banks, achieving the purpose of paying tolls without stopping at the toll station. 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 pass through toll stations without stopping, reducing noise and exhaust emissions, and 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, 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." More future possibilities: In addition to continuously improving the convenience of ETC installation and usage and the ETC passenger vehicle usage rate, efforts will be made to promote the use of ETC for trucks and explore the deep integration of the ETC system with 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 applications.