Phan Thi Thu Hien, deputy director of the Directorate of Roads of Viet Nam, speaks to the Viet Nam & World Economy on the safety and transparency benefits of electric toll collections (ETCs) in Viet Nam.

Phan Thi Thu Hien, deputy director of the Directorate of Roads of Viet Nam. — Photo baogiaothong.vn

How many electronic toll collections are operating in the country now?

Under the Prime Minister’s Decision 07/2017, by the end of 2018, electric toll collections (ETCs) must have been installed along the National Road No.1 and the Ho Chí Minh Highway.

By now 18 out of 36 ETC stations are fully operating on National Road No.1 and the Ho Chí Minh Highway while six others are still in the trial period. Meanwhile the remaining 12 stations are in the process of completing paper requirements for their installation and operation.

The Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam (DRVN) are urging service providers and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) operators to quickly implement the ETCs as scheduled.

Does the DRVN have plans or measures to encourage all car drivers to use the E-tags when they are driving on the toll roads?

The DRVN has already developed a plan to implement some measures, including the use of mass communication to inform the general public, particularly drivers, about advantages of the ETC system and automated toll collections.

The DRVN also plans to organise two workshops in the North and the South with the collaboration from the General Department of Traffic Police and all local provincial transport departments.

In addition, we are also asking State agencies and local authorities to work with BOT toll service providers to encourage their employees to apply for e-tags.

We also co-operated with service providers to promote the use of e-tags and benefits of ETC in vehicle registry offices, coach stations and bus stops, as well as other toll stations.

In the meantime, we have also collaborated with concerned agencies and organisations to launch campaigns to encourage car drivers and owners to use the ETC tickets which can be paid with various forms of payment – via mobile credit, traditional credit cards, or e-wallets, etc. to make it convenient for drivers and help facilitate the implementation of ETCs in BOT roads.

Does the DRVN anticipate problems, like fake e-tags, at the toll booths?

Operation of all these tolling booths is automated. So whenever a vehicle goes through the booth, the transaction will be automatically sent to the back-end system as well as to the drivers to inform him or her that the transaction was successful. 

At the same time, the BOT investors also can keep track of all financial transactions through all BOT booths via an information portal.

Besides, the DRVN has developed a management and surveillance system to keep track of what’s going on in these booths and to make sure all transactions are transparent.

The E-tag ticks are all coded with the GIAI-96 criteria, which is issued by the International GSI standards, so it’s not easy to make counterfeit e-tags. — VNS