Non-stop toll collection towards removing barriers

4.2 million cars of all kinds have ETC tags

The successful pilot of ETC card application on Hanoi - Hai Phong Expressway from August 1, 2022 is an important premise for the Ministry of Transport to replicate and require expressways nationwide to only collect automatic non-stop tolls at current toll stations.

Non-stop toll collection aims to remove barriers, creating convenience for people passing through toll stations

After nearly a year of implementing ETC toll collection on all expressways, the benefits have been proven in practice. During the recent holidays and Tet, people, drivers and transport businesses no longer have to endure congestion at toll stations, saving time and fuel, while toll station operators and state management agencies save time on supervision, increasing transparency in toll collection activities.

According to Mr. To Nam Toan, Head of the Department of Science, Technology, Environment and International Cooperation (Vietnam Road Administration), up to now, the number of vehicles that have been affixed with terminal tags nationwide has reached more than 4.2 million cars of all types, reaching more than 90% of the total number of vehicles in circulation.

Mr. Nguyen Dong Loi, Director of a tourist passenger transport company in Hanoi, said that in the past, the company's transport vehicles had to spend time going to each toll station to buy monthly tickets. Since the ETC toll collection technology was introduced, the company has been able to save this amount of money. Every time the toll payment date comes, the automatic system installed in the bank account will transfer money to the toll stations, quickly, conveniently and transparently.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen, Chairman of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, shared that after many years of delay, the decision to apply ETC fees completely on all expressways is now a milestone demonstrating the political determination of the Government and the Ministry of Transport. In addition to ETC fees, this solution also contributes significantly to building smart traffic infrastructure, bringing many practical benefits, especially creating trust for people and businesses and reducing the habit of using cash.

Regarding this issue, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho said that in the context of the rapid increase in the number of traffic construction projects and vehicles, the manual toll collection method has revealed many limitations such as traffic congestion, limitations in revenue control, increased social costs, and inconvenience for traffic participants. Meanwhile, the ETC toll collection method completely overcomes these shortcomings. With the spirit of the Prime Minister to soon introduce this technology for nationwide deployment, the Ministry of Transport has resolutely directed and has a detailed plan for implementation with investors and service providers to achieve the above results.

Towards removing toll station barriers

A review by the Vietnam Road Administration shows that since 2015, following the Prime Minister's direction, the Ministry of Transport has implemented the first phase of the non-stop toll collection project at toll stations on National Highway 1 and Ho Chi Minh Road through the Central Highlands. However, the installation and operation of ETC nationwide has been "missed" many times, and the Government's targets for all toll stations to implement ETC toll collection by 2019 and 2020 have been postponed due to delays.

It is worrying that after nearly 7 years of implementing the ETC toll collection project nationwide, the number of vehicles with tags has only reached about 3/5 million vehicles, with the rate of paying to use the service only reaching about 40%. The reason is that this is a new form of toll collection, the toll stations have to adjust while doing it, while BOT investors lack cooperation in financial solutions... causing many difficulties for service providers and users are not interested.

After piloting ETC toll collection on the Hanoi - Hai Phong expressway, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh directed that "by August 1, 2022, all expressways currently collecting tolls will have to implement non-stop toll collection completely". The Government and the Ministry of Transport have resolutely applied strong sanctions, including stopping toll collection and handling collective and individual responsibilities that slow down progress.

Ms. Bui Thi Quynh, Deputy Director of Hanoi - Hai Phong Expressway Management and Operation Company, shared that since August 1, 2022, after 1 month of piloting, the number of vehicles using ETC service on the route has reached more than 46,400 vehicles. On average, more than 1,600 vehicles registered to stick cards and use the service every day. During the pilot period, there were no technical errors in the system. For the pilot to be successful, the Ministry of Transport directed that incidents related to cards, no money in the account, double deductions, etc. were all scripted in advance and were actually resolved by the coordinated forces. With the consensus of the people, going through toll stations without stopping to pay cash has now become a habit. During peak times on weekends, holidays, and Tet, traffic volume increases but there is no congestion at the station. This is something that could not be handled many years ago...

"Up to now, the whole country has completed phase I of the conversion from manual toll collection to ETC toll collection and is preparing for phase II and phase III of open toll collection (removing barriers), only maintaining lane dividers, vehicles freely moving through the lanes through toll stations. This success has created a big change in the implementation of the ETC system," said Mr. To Nam Toan.

According to Tin Tuc Newspaper