The Ministry of Transport has solicited public opinions on the "Amendment Draft of the Regulations on the Administration of Toll Roads." The draft proposes that if national free policies affect the legitimate earnings of operators, compensation may be provided through methods such as appropriately extending the toll period.
According to the introduction, in order to strengthen and standardize the management of toll roads, the Ministry of Transport organized the drafting of the "Amendment Draft of the Regulations on the Administration of Toll Roads."
Regarding the toll period, the draft explicitly states that if a highway needs to adjust its toll period due to increased investment from reconstruction or expansion, it may be reassessed. In addition, after the loan repayment or operating period expires, except for cases where maintenance costs are borne by public finance, highways may charge tolls based on the principle of meeting basic maintenance and management expenses, and the toll period may be approved according to the two major maintenance cycles of the road.
The draft also proposes that non-compliant toll station setups may incur fines of between 50,000 and 500,000 yuan; vehicles transporting fresh agricultural products may be exempted from tolls; and highways entirely invested in by the government or built and maintained by social organizations or individuals shall not charge vehicle tolls, among other provisions.
□ Focus: Tolls
Holiday toll-free policy may extend toll period as compensation
【Change】The draft amends the second item of Article 14 to read: "The toll period for commercial highways shall be determined based on the principle of recovering investment and ensuring reasonable returns, and shall not exceed 25 years at most. For commercial highways in central and western provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government as designated by the state, the toll period shall not exceed 30 years at most. If national free policies affect the legitimate earnings of operators, compensation may be provided through methods such as appropriately extending the toll period."
【Interpretation】Since last year's National Day holiday, toll exemptions for small passenger vehicles on highways have been implemented during statutory holidays such as National Day and Labor Day. Experts from the Ministry of Transport have calculated that during major holidays, the daily toll revenue of highways in one province ranges from 30 million to 50 million yuan, adding up to about 600 million yuan for several major holidays, and nearly 20 billion yuan nationwide.
According to the amendment, after the implementation of the toll-free policy during holidays, the toll losses incurred by enterprises can be compensated accordingly, and the method of compensation is to allow enterprises to extend the toll period for highways.
In response, Wang Limei, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Road Transport Association, stated that the national free policies mentioned in the draft not only refer to holiday toll reductions such as those during National Day and Labor Day, but also include green channels, fresh agricultural product transportation, military vehicles, disaster relief vehicles, and more.
The draft mentions compensation through methods such as appropriately extending the toll period, but does not specify the exact calculation standards. In response, Wang Limei believes that generally, after the issuance of regulations, corresponding detailed implementation rules will follow to refine the implementation methods of the policies, promoting their actual enforcement.
Evading tolls may require paying 3 to 5 times the fare
【Change】The draft adds a first paragraph to Article 57: "Vehicles that violate these regulations by refusing to pay, evading, or underpaying tolls, or vehicles falsely claiming to transport fresh agricultural products to evade tolls, shall make up the tolls and pay an additional three to five times the amount due."
【Interpretation】Industry insiders pointed out that toll evasion or underpayment has often been found on toll roads, and the 2004 version of the regulations did not clearly address this issue—the usual handling was simply requiring the tolls to be paid.
The proposed amendment to the regulations aims to directly standardize toll payment management, strengthen law enforcement, and the "fine" measure is primarily meant to serve as a deterrent to regulate toll payment order.
Transferring rights prohibits raising toll standards
The draft states that Article 19 will be amended to: "In accordance with these regulations, when transferring the rights of government-loan repayment highways, the transfer shall be publicly announced, and the operator shall be selected fairly, justly, and transparently through a bidding process, with a transfer agreement legally concluded."
At the same time, Article 21 of the regulations will be amended to: When transferring tolling rights of government-loan repayment highways, the vehicle toll standards shall not be raised, but the toll period may be extended, not exceeding five years.
When transferring tolling rights of commercial highways, neither the toll period nor the vehicle toll standards may be extended or raised.
□ Supporting Measures: Toll revenue and expenditure must be made public
【Change】The draft proposes that information such as the name and location of toll roads and toll stations, toll collection entities, toll standards, toll periods, toll revenue and expenditure, and the completion of maintenance management targets shall be disclosed to the public in accordance with regulations and subject to social supervision. Specific measures for disclosing toll road information shall be formulated jointly by the competent transportation department under the State Council and the development and reform and finance departments under the State Council.
【Interpretation】According to industry insiders, the names and locations of toll roads and toll stations, toll collection entities, toll standards, and toll periods have always been made public, but this time it explicitly proposes that "toll revenue and expenditure" should also be disclosed and subject to public oversight, bringing the toll road accounts from behind the scenes to the forefront.
In response, Wang Limei, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Road Transport Association, also believes that this revision responds to the public's concerns about the revenue and expenditure of toll roads, making the financials more transparent and fair—an important step forward in toll road operation and management.
Promoting nationwide electronic toll collection on expressways
【Change】The draft proposes amending Article 13 to: "Transportation authorities at or above the provincial level shall promote networked toll collection and electronic toll collection (ETC) for expressways and other closed toll roads, gradually achieving nationwide connectivity, reducing toll stations, and improving traffic efficiency and service quality. Specific measures for networked toll collection shall be formulated jointly by the competent transportation department under the State Council and relevant departments under the State Council."
Compared to previous regulations, reporters noted that the 2014 version called for "computerized networked toll collection for expressways and other closed toll roads to reduce toll stations and improve traffic efficiency." This draft explicitly introduces networked toll collection and electronic toll collection (ETC), aiming for gradual nationwide connectivity and fewer toll stations. Additionally, the draft states in Article 29 that "the setup of toll lanes shall meet vehicle safety requirements; the number of toll lanes shall meet the needs for fast vehicle passage and shall not cause congestion. Toll stations on newly built expressways shall be equipped with ETC lanes simultaneously."
【Interpretation】A representative from the Capital Highway Development Group stated that ETC has been gradually implemented in recent years and achieved connectivity in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region by 2010. Drivers have reduced braking and waiting time near toll stations, which has helped alleviate congestion, save energy, and reduce labor costs—a trend that is here to stay.
Wang Limei also said that this amendment mainly promotes the use of technology in toll road management—an encouraging move. Through system construction, the power of technology can be leveraged to serve the field of highway tolls, saving labor costs while providing convenient travel services for the public.
□Other modifications
Clarify reasonable returns on highway investments
The draft for soliciting opinions adds a new Article 17 after Article 16: “The reasonable rate of return on investments in commercial highways may be determined by applying an appropriate markup on the Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (Shibor). The specific markup shall be set forth in the concession agreement.”
Clarify the cancellation of tolls on secondary highways
The draft amends Article 18 to read: The construction of toll roads shall meet the following technical grades and scales:
(1) Expressways with a continuous length of 30 kilometers or more. However, this does not apply to expressways built to improve the national expressway network or those connecting urban areas to local airports.
(2) First-class highways with a continuous length of 50 kilometers or more.
(3) Independent bridges and tunnels with a length of 1,000 meters or more. Highways with a technical grade below second-class (including second-class) shall not charge tolls.
Compared with the current regulations, the third item of this article deletes the clause: “For second-class highways built in the central and western provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government as determined by the state, if their continuous length is 60 kilometers or more, vehicle tolls may be collected upon legal approval.” In other words, if the amendment is passed, no secondary highways will be allowed to charge tolls, and this restriction will also apply to central and western provinces and cities.