Piloting non-stop toll collection, removing barriers on 3 new highways

The Ministry of Transport has just sent a document to relevant units requesting the pilot implementation of a non-stop electronic toll collection system design model for the component projects of Dien Chau - Bai Vot, Nha Trang - Cam Lam and Cam Lam - Vinh Hao.

These are 3 projects under the investment project to build some sections of the North-South expressway in the 2017-2020 period, invested under the PPP method.

Based on the proposal of the Vietnam Road Administration, the Ministry of Transport approved in principle to continue piloting the non-stop toll station model for the Dien Chau - Bai Vot, Nha Trang - Cam Lam and Cam Lam - Vinh Hao component projects according to the model of no barriers at the input, barriers at the output, and no mixed toll lanes approved by the Ministry of Transport for the Nha Trang - Cam Lam component project.

Regarding the speed in the exit lane, the Ministry of Transport requires research to select the appropriate speed, minimizing design adjustments while still ensuring the system's processing speed, optimizing traffic capacity and ensuring vehicle safety.

Event - Non-stop toll collection will be piloted, barriers will be removed on 3 new highways — According to the Government's policy, the implementation of automatic toll collection will go through 4 phases, currently in phase 1 (Photo: Pham Tung).

For adjacent expressways, the Ministry of Transport requires toll stations on the main route between two expressways, to organize closed toll collection and revenue sharing. On short independent sections when adjacent expressways are not yet connected, temporary toll stations can be built on the main route to ensure independent operation. Toll stations and station buildings must be built in a streamlined and economical manner to be ready to move to the single-lane and free multi-lane phases.

The Ministry of Transport assigned the Vietnam Road Administration to review and unify technical contents, connection plans and related issues to implement the pilot model. In addition, it will guide and unify design documents for adjusting toll stations at projects being implemented according to the pilot model.

The Vietnam Road Administration monitors the implementation of the pilot model at projects; reports on the assessment and summary of the practical results of the pilot model implementation and proposes and recommends that the Ministry of Transport consider moving to the single-lane and multi-lane stages of free toll collection without barriers.

According to the Government's policy, the process of implementing non-stop toll collection in Vietnam has 4 stages.

Phase 1 (2016-2023): There are barriers at toll stations. The vehicle owner's traffic account must have enough balance to pay the toll before the barrier opens for the vehicle to pass through the station.

Phase 2 (2024-2025): There are still barriers but customers can pay the toll after passing through the station. If it is okay, it will move to phase 3.

Phase 3 (from 2026 onwards): Remove barriers, this is the transition phase to phase 4. If the vehicle owner pays the fee later without any problems, it will move to phase 4 in 6 months to 1 year.

Phase 4: Remove barriers and toll stations, only ETC devices are hung on racks for vehicles to pass freely, meaning no more toll stations, no more toll islands, vehicles can pass through. This is the most anticipated phase for both the Government and traffic participants .

Source