First stage of national toll network to go live

The electronic toll collection (ETC) system in 14 municipalities and provinces will be linked from year's end, people.cn reported.

Users in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhenjiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Liaoning, Hunan and Shaanxi will only need one electronic label and payment card per vehicle.

Extra electronic labels and cards should be cancelled to avoid needless charges, said Wang Gang, director of settlement management sector of the Highway Monitor and Emergency Management Center. As the nationwide ETC will link next year, unnecessary electronic labels and payment cards will automatically become obsolete, he added.

ETC is a system to charge toll roads without the need for human staff.