Will highways only accept ETC in the future?
1 Answers
Highways do not exclusively use ETC. Vehicles without ETC can still access highways. According to regulations by the State Council, vehicles without ETC will not enjoy toll discounts and must pay fees through manual lanes. Additionally, newly installed ETC devices cannot be used immediately—they must be activated before functioning normally. During free holiday periods, vehicles can still use highways. For users with activated ETC, passing through ETC lanes will not incur charges. ETC Deduction Principles: Highways feature one or more ETC lanes. The system relies on dedicated short-range microwave communication between the vehicle's on-board electronic tag (installed on the windshield) and the microwave antenna in the ETC lane. This connects to bank backend settlement via computer networking, enabling vehicles to pay tolls without stopping at toll stations—all based on a "pass first, deduct later" principle. Benefits of Installing ETC: Time-saving: Eliminates waiting in queues. Green & eco-friendly: Reduces noise and exhaust emissions by avoiding idling at toll booths. Cost-efficient: Lowers vehicle wear and fuel consumption by minimizing frequent stops and starts. Enhanced efficiency: ETC lanes theoretically process vehicles 2-3 times faster, making traditional ETC more advanced, faster, and high-tech. Compared to license plate payment, ETC technology is more mature and advantageous. Policy Support: The State Council's "13th Five-Year Plan for Modern Integrated Transportation System Development" explicitly aims to "achieve interoperability of transport cards in major city clusters and significantly increase ETC adoption by 2020," with a target of "50% ETC usage rate for road passenger vehicles by 2020" under key transport development indicators. Future Possibilities: Beyond improving ETC convenience and passenger vehicle adoption, future plans include promoting ETC for trucks and integrating ETC systems with vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-road coordination, and smart transportation initiatives. This will provide comprehensive travel services, expanding ETC application scenarios.
