The following merits come out from deployment of ETC, since a vehicle can pay toll without stopping at the tollgate.
1.Enhanced Convenience
Easy payment can be made in a shorter period of time by non-stop cashless transaction through radio wave at the tollbooth.
Japan's ETC is a unified system and can be used in all toll roads equipped with ETC throughout Japan, which brings about a great convenience and amenity to road users.
2.Mitigation of Traffic Congestions and Improved Environment of Noise and Air Pollution Around Tollgates
Traffic congestions around the tollgates were almost disappeared due to a shortened service time for the toll collection.
ETC frees vehicles from stop-and-go maneuvering at the tollgates, thus, traffic noises and exhausted nitrogen oxides associated with braking and acceleration are greatly reduced in surrounding environment. It also contributes to reduction of carbon dioxides.
3.Support of Various Toll Pricing
ETC offers electronic cashless payment by ETC cards. This payment system enables a variety of toll pricing to meet a various style of road use ----holiday pricing, night-time pricing, environmental detour pricing, planned event pricing like flat-rate limitless ride service, etc.
4.Smart IC To Vitalize Local Economy
There are strong demands for construction of interchanges (IC) of the expressways, since the mobility created by ICs tends to vitalize local economy ----growth of population, income, industries, etc.
Conventional design of IC requires complicated geometric ramps to guide traffics to a tollgate located in a wide area of land to bundle all tollbooths at one place. On the other hand, ETC Smart IC is a compact type IC that allows a larger capacity of traffics in spite of a simpler geometry and lesser land area. Thus the smart IC would be a prevailing option for construction of a local IC.
In addition, replacement of ordinary tollbooths to ETC reduces number of manned tollbooths as well as their management costs.
5.Economic Impact
ETC has streamlined traffic flow by increased number of smart ICs as well as reduced traffic congestions. Furthermore, ETC has proved to be a jumpstart to create new industries and businesses -----manufacturing and selling roadside devices and onboard units, manufacturing and issuing ETC cards, etc.