Authorities respond to problems with ETC

Shanghai's transport authorities said on Thursday they are working on the technical improvement of electronic toll collection (ETC) devices to ensure their stability in response to some advisers' calls for improvement.

China has launched a campaign to cancel manual charging of toll fees and recommends that cars be fitted with devices which will automatically deduct toll fee to enable vehicles to pass more quickly through toll gates.

However, this has led to a large number of complaints over congestion and more expensive charges.

Failure to separate vehicles for the ETC system and manual swiping at each toll gate in advance is the major problem, said adviser Shen Qinhua.

In addition, some vehicles get stuck due to technical problems during card reading, Shen said.

Different charging methods have triggered complaints of extra charges, said adviser Jiang Jianhua, who called for a transparent charging system.

He said the ETC system should be promoted gradually instead of being introduced too quickly.

An official with the Shanghai Road Transport Administrative Bureau said some problems had been noticed during the process, and technical improvements are being made in response to suggestions.