Will vehicles without ETC be prohibited from entering highways in the future?
2 Answers
Vehicles without ETC can still enter highways. According to regulations from the State Council, vehicles without ETC will not enjoy toll discounts. In the future, only one manual lane will remain at highway toll stations, requiring drivers to pay tolls manually. Additionally, newly installed ETC devices cannot be used immediately on highways; they must be activated first. During free holiday periods, all vehicles can use highways without restriction. For vehicles with activated ETC, passing through ETC lanes during free periods will not incur charges. ETC Deduction Principles: Highways will have one or more ETC lanes. Using dedicated short-range microwave communication between the onboard electronic tag installed on the vehicle's windshield and the microwave antenna in the ETC lane, along with computer networking technology for backend bank settlements, vehicles can pass through toll stations without stopping to pay bridge or road fees. This system operates on a "pass first, deduct later" principle. Benefits of Installing ETC: Time-saving: Eliminates the hassle of waiting in queues; Green and eco-friendly: Promotes low-carbon travel by reducing stops at toll stations, thereby lowering noise and exhaust emissions and minimizing pollution; Reduced wear and tear: Saves costs by decreasing the frequency of vehicle acceleration and braking, reducing mechanical wear and fuel consumption; Improved efficiency: ETC lanes can theoretically increase traffic efficiency by 2-3 times, making traditional ETC systems more advanced, faster, and higher-tech. Compared to license plate payment systems, ETC technology is more mature and advantageous. More policy support: The State Council's "13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a Modern Comprehensive Transportation System" explicitly states the goal of "achieving interoperability of transportation cards in major city clusters by 2020 and significantly increasing the proportion of vehicles equipped with ETC." It also sets a target of "achieving a 50% ETC usage rate for road passenger vehicles by 2020" in the main indicators for comprehensive transportation development during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period. Future possibilities: Beyond improving the convenience of ETC installation and increasing passenger vehicle usage rates, efforts will be made to promote ETC adoption for trucks. Future developments will explore deeper integration of ETC systems with vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-road coordination, and other smart transportation initiatives, providing comprehensive travel services for vehicle owners. This indicates that more application scenarios will support ETC usage in the future.
Actually, you can still get on the highway without an ETC! Last week when I was on a long-distance trip, I saw that the far-right lane at the toll station was reserved for manual service, but the queue was indeed much longer than the ETC lanes. The current policy is to keep some manual service windows open for temporary vehicles and owners without ETC, but during holidays with heavy traffic, you might have to wait up to half an hour. I recommend getting an ETC—the device is free and you get a 5% discount. A friend of mine didn’t even need a bank card; they activated it via WeChat on their phone, and just a ‘beep’ at the toll gate and they were through—super convenient. Recently, self-service card dispensers have been added at highway entrances. Without an ETC, you can just scan a code to get a toll card, so it’s not that troublesome after all.
