The following merits come out from deployment of ETC, since a vehicle can pay toll without stopping at the tollgate.
1.Enhanced Convenience
ETCレーンで無線通信により一旦停止することなく、ETCカードによる通行料金の支払いがされますので、料金所通過時間の短縮やキャッシュレス化が実現します。
わが国のETCは、全国の主要な有料道路で、共通システムとしてご利用頂けるので、利用者の利便性・快適性が大幅に向上します。
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.