Is it necessary to install ETC?

[Trent]

You can apply for and install an ETC device. According to the regulations of the State Council, 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 tolls can only be paid through manual channels. Additionally, newly installed ETC devices cannot be used on highways immediately; they must be activated first. During free holiday periods, ETC users can still use highways, and passing through ETC lanes will not incur charges. ETC Deduction Principles: 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, and by utilizing computer networking technology for backend settlement with banks, the system achieves the goal of vehicles paying tolls without stopping at highway toll stations. All of this operates 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 as vehicles pass through toll stations without stopping; Reduced wear and tear: Saves costs by decreasing the frequency of vehicle starts and brakes, thereby reducing wear and fuel consumption; Improved efficiency: ETC lanes can theoretically increase vehicle throughput by 2-3 times, making traditional ETC systems 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, intercity transportation smart cards will be basically interoperable in key city clusters, and the proportion of vehicles equipped with ETC will significantly increase.' It also set a clear 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 and increasing the ETC adoption rate among passenger vehicles, efforts will be made to promote ETC usage among trucks in the future. There will also be exploration into deeper integration between ETC systems and smart transportation developments 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 usage.