Toll collection does not stop “sprint”

After July 31, the BOT must discharge the station if it does not exist yet non-stop toll collection

Most recently, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh directed, after July 31, if any project has not been completed to collect tolls without stopping, they will have to “discharge the station”, with sanctions to handle collective responsibility. , individual causes delay.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Vietnam Expressway Development Investment Corporation (VEC) to be more drastic in speeding up the implementation of the non-stop electronic toll collection system (ETC) at highway projects. speed managed by VEC; seriously handle responsibilities, collectives and individuals if the progress is delayed in accordance with the direction of the Government.

After July 31, if any project has not been completed to collect the toll without stopping, it will have to “discharge the station”. (Photo: Investment Newspaper)

Vehicles that are not eligible to intentionally enter the toll lane without stopping, such as not daring to stop toll stamps, stamped but not recharged, or not having enough balance, etc. will be fined from 1 to 2 million dong.

Urgently deploy toll collection without stopping according to the schedule

With drastic measures like the above, July 31 may no longer be a milestone marking the non-stop delay in toll collection, like some previous times. This timeline is also approaching, but there are still many difficulties to be solved, for example from the user side.

According to statistics, currently, Vietnam has about 2.7 million cars that have automatic toll cards, but only 60% of them recharge. As for the operation management and expressway units, what difficulties are they still facing?

Dong Ha toll station will collect tolls non-stop from 2018. In 2021, the number of vehicles passing through this station is over 3,700,000 turns. Particularly, the non-stop toll collection lane is over 2,250,000 turns, accounting for more than 60%. Currently, Quang Tri province has over 13,000 vehicles registered for ETC, but there are still many difficulties in implementation.

The functional forces at Dong Ha VETC toll station said that on average, there are 2 to 3 traffic collisions here every month, caused by toll-evading vehicles running close to large trucks, making traffic unsafe at the station. fee.

Currently, localities are trying to increase the rate of vehicles using non-stop toll collection services. The number of vehicles with ETC cards nationwide is currently about 3 million, equivalent to 65% of the total number of vehicles. According to the Ministry of Transport, this rate will increase to 80-90% by the end of the year.

“Dong Ha station has arranged staff to go to localities, to advise and guide customers to apply VETC automatic tags; arrange staffs to transport enterprises, trade in building materials with many vehicles, to introduce and advise customers to use the service,” said Mr. Nguyen Dai Hung, Head of VETC Dong Ha Toll Station, Quang Tri.

The technical operation of toll lanes is also being urgently implemented. Currently, there are 102 lanes of 23 toll stations that need to be installed.

“In May, we will install 2 more automatic lanes, ensuring the exploitation of 4 pure ETC automatic toll collection lanes. We have also installed signboards for vehicles to identify and enter the lane,” he said. Nguyen Van Phon, Head of Nam Binh Dinh Toll Station, shared.

Along with the efforts of route management enterprises, in order to achieve the Government’s roadmap on implementing non-stop toll collection through BOT stations, it is necessary to coordinate with traffic participants and transport enterprises. download so that the toll collection will not stop smoothly in the near future.

Hanoi – Hai Phong Expressway collects tolls without stopping

As for the northern region, from June 1, the Hanoi – Hai Phong expressway will only collect tolls automatically without stopping (ETC) and not delaying the implementation time.

The pilot will be implemented at 32/62 toll lanes on 6/6 toll stations on the Hanoi – Hai Phong expressway. Each BOT station on the route will maintain a one-stop manual toll collection (MTC) lane to handle vehicles having trouble during toll collection such as unrecognized cards.

A series of notice boards have been installed at all entrances and exits on the Hanoi – Hai Phong Expressway to notify vehicles participating in traffic from June 1, only vehicles with non-stop toll tags (ETC ) are allowed to pass through here.

To solve the problem, the toll stations will have only one incident handling lane in each direction on the expressway, the rest will be non-stop toll collection (ETC lane). Vehicles not eligible to enter will be fined.

The Traffic Police Department (Ministry of Public Security) said that vehicles that do not have a toll card that do not stop, or have a sticker but the account is not enough for circulation, but deliberately entering the Hanoi – Hai Phong highway will be guiding force for the completion of the ETC card.

From June 1, the Hanoi – Hai Phong expressway will conduct automatic non-stop toll collection (ETC). (Photo: VGP)

“According to regulations, we will handle intentional cases, or those who miss entering will have their cards stuck on the spot or if they don’t want to participate, we will guide them to turn around,” Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Truong Son said. , Team Leader 2, Traffic Police Department, Ministry of Public Security, said.

The Hanoi – Hai Phong Expressway is the first expressway to be piloted with non-stop toll collection from June 1. Vehicles that do not have a toll card that doesn’t stop, or that have a sticker but their account is not enough to pay, will be severely punished.

The first time the fee collection did not stop testing and encouraging use was from 2020, 2 years now. We cannot stop and delay more, because non-stop toll collection is a global trend, applied by many countries and brings great benefits.

Non-stop toll service on highways in the US

As in the US, this country has about 75,000 km of interstate highways, connecting 48 states, 209 cities. Traveling on the highway can be considered as a daily routine for most Americans. Most people here equip themselves with automatic toll collection devices.

America is the 4th largest country in the world by area. To move within a state or between states, the highway system is considered the lifeblood, but to travel on the highway in the most convenient way, an EZ Pass device (toll collection device) is indispensable. the automatic does not stop).

When going through toll booths, depending on the station, the allowed speed is also different. Some stations can let vehicles pass at 65 miles (equivalent to more than 100 km/h) and still collect tolls, others set the maximum speed for toll collection is about 80 km/h. There are also stations, you can only pass at a speed of less than 10 km. However, at any speed, it is much more convenient than having to stop the car and pay the tollgate.

In terms of operating principle, you can consider the car as a phone and this device as a prepaid SIM, registered by the owner. When passing the toll station, the antenna on the station will automatically detect your device and charge the fee to your account. Another interesting thing is that you can use the same device for many different cars, as long as the car is added to the list when you open your EZ Pass account.

According to statistics, there are millions of drivers passing through toll booths every day and they are the ones who feel the most convenience of this automatic toll collection device.

“I use the EZ Pass. Only when using the EZ Pass can you maintain your speed when traveling on the highway. It’s so convenient. Instead of having to wait to pay the toll now you just need to pass,” said Eric Nieves, Connecticut, USA.

“I have an EZ Pass. Before when you were driving through a toll booth, you would have to slow down a bit, but now the system can read the information on its own. You don’t have to stop or slow down” , said Ameris Melendez, Connecticut, USA.

If you look at the US road toll process seems lax when there are no bars to stop vehicles, but the stations do have cameras. If driving a car that does not register an account and does not pay the fee in cash, the camera will record the number plate and the receipt will be sent to the owner’s mailbox.

Currently, in the United States, most highways are equipped with automatic toll collection systems that do not stop., although the names may be different, they also have the same operating principle.

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