What does vehicle passage surcharge mean?
2 Answers
National authorities have consolidated four types of road fees—expressway maintenance fees, road transport management fees, toll fees, and bridge crossing fees—into a unified motor vehicle fuel surcharge, eliminating all highway toll stations. Expressway fees: Passengers are responsible for actual expressway tolls incurred during the trip. The driver will charge based on the amount actually advanced during the journey. Bridge tolls: Passengers are responsible for actual fees incurred when passing through toll bridges or roads during the trip. The driver will charge based on the amount actually advanced during the journey. Parking fees: Parking fees incurred after accepting an order, including those caused by passengers during the trip, are borne by passengers, with the amount based on actual parking charges. Parking fees incurred by the driver before accepting an order are borne by the driver.
The vehicle passage surcharge, simply put, is an extra fee you pay when driving on specific road sections, like tolls at highway booths or bridge crossings. Having driven long-haul trucks for years, I've encountered this often—it's essentially an additional charge by the government to fund road construction and maintenance. For example, in China, taking the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway might cost around 200 yuan for a small car, with higher fees for large trucks. Costs vary widely based on location and vehicle type, with lower fees around cities and steeper charges in remote mountainous areas. Nowadays, most tolls are automatically deducted via ETC, making the process convenient, fast, and queue-free. Relatedly, drivers planning trips should check route fees online in advance and factor them into their budget to avoid mid-journey scrambles for cash. Over time, neglecting these fees can add up and hit your wallet hard.
