Barriers at BOT stations open automatically when collecting electronic tolls

Create all conditions for car owners

The non-stop automatic toll collection project invested by VETC Automatic Toll Collection Company Limited was permitted by the Ministry of Transport to be implemented from 2016 according to the roadmap from 2016 - 2019, applied to National Highway 1 (QL) and Ho Chi Minh Road through the Central Highlands, with 28 toll stations nationwide applying automatic toll collection on 2 lanes and after 2019 will be applied on all lanes.

According to VETC General Director Nguyen Manh Ha, currently there are 17 toll stations nationwide that have deployed VETC automatic non-stop toll collection lanes, helping drivers switch from cash to non-cash payments, not only bringing the most convenience to people, but also significantly reducing congestion at toll stations.

Tasco Quang Binh non-stop toll station.

To collect non-stop tolls, vehicle owners will be given a VETC identification card (free of charge) to stick on the front windshield of the vehicle and an account will be created for transactions. Vehicle owners can transfer money into this account through many different channels such as: Direct deposit at toll stations, inspection centers connected to VETC, Viettel transaction points, via the internet, via banks, via phone scratch cards, via online deposit channels such as: VETC customer information portal, VETC AppMobile, BankPlus (Viettel) e-wallet Momo, Payoo, Vimo, or deposit money through banks in the form of bank transfer, bill payment on BIDV Online... The amount of money in the account will depend on the vehicle owner but must be at least enough to pay the fee when passing through the automatic ticket checkpoint.

However, up to this point, VETC has only been able to apply tags to 380,000/3 million cars nationwide, reaching about 13%.

To ensure the implementation roadmap of non-stop toll collection, VETC and Viettel Telecom Corporation have signed a cooperation agreement to support payment channels and top-up of VETC's non-stop automatic toll collection service through transactions and the BankPlus application of Viettel's payment system. Accordingly, there will be 300,000 Viettel transaction points to support customers to top up their non-stop toll collection accounts nationwide.

Accordingly, 300,000 transaction points will be located in 11,000 communes and wards to support VETC to top up their accounts, making it easy for drivers anywhere to top up their VETC payment accounts. In addition, Viettel will soon deploy an additional form of support for drivers to top up their non-stop toll collection accounts via electronic scratch cards for more convenient and faster payments.

To limit the situation where many drivers deliberately delay in sticking the card, Mr. Nguyen Van Huyen, Director General of the Vietnam Road Administration, said that the Administration has requested VETC to prepare a plan to stick VETC cards by setting up kiosks right on the road or possibly considering going to agencies and businesses to create maximum conditions for people.

“To avoid congestion and ensure transparency in BOT toll collection, the Vietnam Road Administration will propose that the Ministry of Transport report to the Government to develop a roadmap to enforce the labeling of vehicle owners, with all cars and taxis required to have labels by the end of December 2018, and trucks by June 2019. In addition, the Administration will stop collecting fees for 10 days according to its authority for BOT station investors who are slow to implement non-stop toll collection,” said Mr. Huyen.

Causing trouble at BOT stations will be severely punished.

The Prime Minister's telegram has just been issued requesting ministries, branches, agencies, and local authorities to jointly deal with those who intentionally cause trouble at BOT toll stations.

Smart transportation is no longer a strange concept in the world. With the application of information technology in the operation process, traffic management has been implemented by many countries for a long time.

VETC's non-stop automatic toll collection technology uses radio waves to identify motor vehicles with E-tags attached to the windshield or headlights to automatically deduct money from the account loaded in the card, then the barrier will automatically open for the vehicle to pass through the station without having to stop to pay and get a ticket. This trend is not out of the above.

Non-stop toll collection will be more transparent than one stop at BOT stations.

With this technology, the Ministry of Transport has proposed a roadmap to remove all barriers at current toll stations. At that time, vehicle owners will not need to care about toll stations on the road. Toll collection units will not have to spend money to install toll stations, arrange personnel to collect money from vehicles; at the same time, it will open up the direction of electronic payment for the industry.