Is it necessary to apply for ETC now?
1 Answers
It is necessary to apply for ETC. According to the regulations of the State Council, vehicles without ETC in 2020 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, ETC users can still use highways, and no fees will be deducted when passing through ETC lanes. ETC Deduction Principle: There will be one or more ETC lanes on highways. Through microwave dedicated short-range communication between the vehicle's electronic tag installed on the windshield and the microwave antenna in the ETC lane, the system uses computer networking technology to settle payments with banks, achieving the goal of vehicles passing toll stations without stopping. All of 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: Low-carbon, as vehicles pass toll stations without stopping, reducing noise and exhaust emissions and minimizing pollution; Reduced wear and tear: Saves costs by decreasing the frequency of vehicle starts and brakes, lowering wear and fuel consumption; Improved efficiency: ETC lanes can theoretically increase passing efficiency 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 explicitly 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 set a target in the "13th Five-Year Plan" for comprehensive transportation development: "By 2020, the ETC usage rate for road passenger vehicles 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 into the deep integration of ETC systems with vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure coordination, and other smart transportation development directions, providing comprehensive travel services for vehicle owners. This means more application scenarios will support ETC usage.
