China to phase out almost all manned tollbooths on provincial borders

China is working toward removing almost all manned expressway tollbooths on provincial borders by the end of the year, Ministry of Transport officials said Friday.

The booths are to be replaced with electronic toll-collection (ETC) devices.

Once these are in place, vehicles on expressways will be able to pass tollbooths without stopping, thus improving traffic efficiency and decreasing energy consumption and exhaust emissions, Dai Dongchang, vice-minister of transport said in a policy briefing in Beijing.

The goal to remove these tollbooths was put forward in the Government Work Report Premier Li Keqiang delivered in March, in which the government laid out plans to complete the mission in two years.

In an executive meeting Sunday however the State Council decided to finish the work by the end of the year.

The work to remove the tollbooths and set up ETC devices will help resolve traffic jams on provincial borders, Dai said.

The work also means drivers will need to install ETC devices in their vehicles to pay for tolls for their cross-province journeys. The Ministry of Transport is to install these devices in vehicles for free.

Drivers who have not installed the devices by the end of the year can pay for tolls at manned booths at highway exits, said Wu Dejin, director of the ministry's highway department.

There will however only be a small number of remaining manned booths, which may lead to long waiting times at such booths, Wu said, encouraging drivers to install ETC devices in their vehicles.