China has completed upgrading of electronic toll collection (ETC) facilities on freeways and entered a crucial stage of the removal of cross-provincial tollgates on expressways.

The popularization of ETC devices has reduced emissions and logistics costs. A person in charge of a container transport company said that installation of ETC devices on trucks could cut waiting time by 10 to 20 minutes per trip, and save 300 to 500 liters of diesel oil per year for each vehicle. Eventually, the cost for operating a truck could be reduced by 3,000 yuan in a year.

Currently, Liaoning, Henan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces have issued or are issuing toll collection cards for freight cars to further popularize the use of ETC devices on automobiles.

Shenzhen has installed ETC devices on 1,000 taxies under a pilot project which connects pre-set ETC devices with taximeters to ensure that cars pass through the tollgates more quickly.

By the end of this year, ETC devices will have been installed on 180 million vehicles and more than 90 percent of vehicles on freeways should be able to use the ETC system.