Can pay through BOT station by text message

Ms. Phan Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Road Administration, said that there are currently 25 stations in commercial operation. Among them, at the Hanoi gateway stations, the Hanoi - Bac Giang station has implemented non-stop toll collection, and by September, the Phap Van - Cau Gie station will be implemented.

Regarding the benefits of non-stop toll collection, Ms. Hien said that non-stop automatic toll collection converts paper tickets to electronic tickets, which is convenient for businesses. With paper tickets, businesses have to send people to the station to buy monthly and quarterly tickets and have to monitor payment settlement. When applying non-stop toll collection, the Vietnam Road Administration will monitor the revenue of BOT investors and publicize it on the media.

In addition, when applying this form, transport businesses can also buy tickets at the station while sitting at home. When sticking the card, businesses are not required to deposit money immediately, only when the business has a need to use it, they must deposit money into the non-stop collection account.

“According to the Prime Minister’s Decision 07, by the end of this year, stations on National Highway 1 and Ho Chi Minh Road through the Central Highlands will have to apply non-stop toll collection. If they do not implement this, businesses will face difficulties in traffic,” said Ms. Hien.

Ms. Bui Thi Phuong Lan, Director of Thang Long Transport Cooperative, said that this is a convenient and cost-saving method for businesses, but for drivers who do not use smartphones, it is very difficult to top up. "We top up for a quarter but do not use up all the money in that quarter. Will that money be transferred to the next quarter?", Ms. Lan asked.

Answering questions, Mr. Nguyen Manh Ha, General Director of VETC Automatic Toll Collection Company Limited, said that businesses will be able to manage centrally, and the business accountant will buy tickets centrally. Instead of requiring drivers to keep paper tickets, businesses only need to print statements to pay taxes. In addition, businesses can track the date and time the vehicle passes through the station. In addition, businesses save costs because they do not have to wait to pass through the station, and save fuel and vehicle wear and tear because they do not have to stop many times.

“VETC will affix free tags for the first time to over 2 million vehicles with many forms of tagging at inspection stations and kiosks on the road. Transport businesses can top up at BOT stations, inspection stations, VETC authorized agents, top up via banks, bankplus application, and in the future will top up via Viettel scratch cards. Most drivers are reluctant to go to the bank to top up, VETC also allows topping up via SMS. Businesses that top up and do not use up all the money can transfer it to the next month or switch to another vehicle,” said Mr. Ha.

According to Mr. Ha, Hanoi is a place with a large traffic volume with gateways such as the Hanoi - Lao Cai, Phap Van - Cau Gie, Bac Giang - Lang Son expressways that will be completed in 2018. "VETC has worked with the bank to have a three-party cooperation service between transport businesses. VETC Company and the bank will allow reputable transport businesses to pay later, the bank will guarantee for the transport business and then at the end of the month will pay in one go. VETC will convert all paper ticket transactions to electronic tickets including monthly and quarterly tickets to facilitate businesses. When businesses use the service, one business account can top up hundreds of vehicles," said Mr. Ha.

According to Ms. Phan Thi Thu Hien, there are currently over 500,000 vehicles that have been tagged. The General Department of Roads hopes that this number will increase so that more people can use this utility. According to the roadmap, by the end of 2019, BOT stations across the country will be required to implement non-stop toll collection. If people and businesses are not tagged, it will be difficult for them to circulate," Ms. Hien said.