Why do I still have to pay tolls when driving on the highway?

Mr. Dinh Cao Thang - Head of Administration Department (Vietnam Road Administration) said that road usage fees and expressway usage fees are two different types of fees, with different subjects and scopes.

Regarding the subjects of toll collection, road tolls are applied to registered and inspected road motor vehicles for circulation. Meanwhile, highway tolls are only collected from vehicles traveling on highways owned by the entire people, with the State representing the owner.

In addition, road usage fees are fees collected for roads built with the central and local budgets. Expressway usage fees are only collected for expressways owned by the entire people and represented by the State.

Road toll revenue is used to serve the management and maintenance of the road system. Meanwhile, expressway toll is used to invest in, manage and maintain the expressway system.

No double-take

Mr. Thang said that according to the approved Road Law, expressways provide better road use services for users due to higher quality standards. Expressway users enjoy more benefits than those using regular national highways.

"Based on the principle that users of higher quality services must pay higher fees, in addition to paying annual road usage fees per vehicle, it is appropriate for highway users to pay an additional road usage fee collected through toll stations on the highway," Mr. Thang analyzed.

Expressway tolls are only collected from vehicles traveling on expressways, so road users have the right to choose to travel on existing national highways or pay expressway tolls to enjoy higher quality of service and benefits.

In addition, the highway usage fee has been calculated by the specialized agency based on the deduction of the road usage fee collected through the vehicle and the collected taxes and fees.

"Currently, the State has collected road usage fees based on the number of vehicles. Therefore, the organization of collecting highway usage fees through toll stations on highways invested by the State may cause many people to wonder and some people think that the fees overlap. However, that is a completely incorrect assessment and cannot happen," Mr. Dinh Cao Thang emphasized.

According to Mr. Thang, road usage fees and highway usage fees are two types of fees that have been regulated by law, researched and developed by specialized agencies based on legal regulations and the principle of determining fee levels taking into account the interests of vehicle users.

"Vietnam Road Administration hopes that people will support and comply with the Party's policies and the State's laws, pay road use fees collected through vehicles and pay highway use fees according to regulations, contributing to creating revenue for the State budget to serve the investment, expansion of the highway system and management and maintenance of the road system.

The Vietnam Road Administration will coordinate with relevant agencies to implement the collection of highway tolls in accordance with regulations, transparently and use revenue sources effectively and for the right purposes," emphasized a representative of the Road Administration.