The dilemma of collecting road tolls.

(Baonghean)The implementation of road maintenance fees (according to Government Decree 18/2012/ND-CP) is considered an important resource contributing to the improvement of transportation infrastructure. However, during implementation, the collection of road fees from motorcycles has been very low.

Road construction is underway in Dien Hoa (Dien Chau).

The collection of road tolls from motor vehicles in Nghe An is carried out through three vehicle inspection centers in Vinh City, Nghi Loc, and Nghia Dan, making this work very effective (in 2013, the center collected tolls from 51,768 vehicles with a total amount of 150,870 million VND). Mr. Dang Thanh Duong, an official at the Nghe An Vehicle Inspection Center, said: “To effectively collect tolls, the center has established a specialized team and proactively invested in infrastructure, purchasing additional equipment and computers to apply toll calculation and collection software… In 2013, the center collected tolls from 45,588 vehicles with a total amount of 132,505 million VND, and in the first three months of 2014, it collected tolls from 9,734 vehicles with an amount exceeding 26,404 million VND.” The collection of road tolls from automobiles is strictly complied with by vehicle owners; however, the regulations on toll refunds under Circular 197/TT-BTC in our province still present difficulties. Because it is a new regulation, some customers are unaware of the procedure for submitting their vehicle inspection booklet and sticker to the inspection unit before taking their vehicle for repairs, leading to their inability to complete the toll refund process.

While collecting road tolls from cars has been relatively easy, collecting tolls from motorcycles in our province has faced many difficulties. Although the Provincial Road Maintenance Fund has advised relevant levels and sectors to issue specific and detailed guidelines for local fee collection and to open accounts to receive road maintenance funds, and has also sent official letters urging districts, cities, and towns to collect road usage fees from motorcycles, and based on data from the Traffic Police Department, the Fund's Office has advised the Provincial People's Committee to issue a decision temporarily allocating the road toll collection budget… the collection of road tolls from motorcycles is still progressing slowly. In Vinh City, there are currently about 180,028 motorcycles, and the projected road toll revenue for 2013 was over 12,173 million VND, but to date, only over 3,855 million VND has been collected.

Mr. Tran Van Dung, an accounting officer at the People's Committee of Quan Bau Ward, Vinh City, said: “The People's Committee of the ward has provided declaration forms to officials in 12 blocks, and through them, directly distributed them to the people. Along with following the correct procedures and instructions from higher authorities, the People's Committee of the ward has also strengthened propaganda and mobilization efforts through the public address system in each block, resulting in good compliance from the people. In Block 1, there are approximately 300 vehicles, and residents have paid 25 million VND out of a planned 27 million VND. Similarly, in Block 2, various methods have been used to disseminate information and encourage residents to pay the fees… Thanks to this, out of 3,100 motorbikes, the total fee collected has reached 241.7 million VND out of a planned 351 million VND. Currently, the ward is compiling a new list of vehicles in the area to implement the 2014 road toll collection.”

According to statistics from the Road Maintenance Fund, there are approximately 1,073,139 motorcycles in 21 districts, cities, and towns. The plan for 2013 was to collect over 57,884 million VND, but only over 13,480 million VND has been collected so far. The reasons for this low collection include the lack of active participation from local authorities (some localities have not even implemented the fee collection or have achieved low collection rates, such as Con Cuong, Yen Thanh, and Hoang Mai town), and the lack of specific penalties for vehicle owners failing to pay the fee (collection is currently based on persuasion). Furthermore, due to the province's large geographical area, with many mountainous districts and sparsely populated areas, the campaign to encourage people to pay road tolls faces significant challenges. One problem with collecting road tolls from motorcycles is the discrepancy in statistics on motorcycles and three- and four-wheeled cargo vehicles across different levels and sectors. To improve toll collection, the Provincial People's Committee recently issued a document requesting districts and cities to actively implement the collection of road tolls from motorcycles. The results of this task will be considered as one of the criteria for evaluating and ranking localities annually.

Due to the highly developed transportation system in our province, coupled with complex weather conditions and high traffic volume, roads are deteriorating rapidly, especially those in districts and communes. Meanwhile, the annual budget allocated for the management and maintenance of provincial roads is very low (32 billion VND in 2013 and 22.3 billion VND in 2014), and there is almost no funding available for the management and maintenance of district and commune roads. Therefore, implementing road maintenance fees will be a crucial resource contributing to the improvement of transportation infrastructure in our province. Relevant levels of government, sectors, and especially the people, need to effectively carry out this task.

Hoang Vinh