In response, the Transport Ministry yesterday requested that the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam direct the Vietnam Expressway Development Investment Corp. (VEC) and BOT investors, service providers to find and fix technical errors of the ETC systems, especially the failure to recognize vehicles’ identification cards.
In addition, service providers must assign sufficient staff and a hotline to cope with any possible incidents immediately.
The Directorate for Roads of Vietnam is in charge of guiding, inspecting, monitoring, and thoroughly handling any inadequacies of ETC systems to avoid traffic congestion that can affect social security and order.
Regarding the case of two ETC service providers blaming each other on the overlapping installation of ETC cards on more than 40,000 vehicles, the Transport Ministry has received related reports from both sides. The Directorate for Roads of Vietnam has confirmed that there are virtual accounts, overlapping installation of ETC cards, and automatic service registration for the sake of reaching the assigned quota, regardless of the wish of vehicles’ owners.
Therefore, the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam has asked that both service providers check and adjust the content of the ETC installation contract between them and vehicle owners, better manage traffic accounts, ensure operation consistency, and immediately stop the activation of virtual accounts as well as overlapping installation of ETC cards.
As to vehicles which have already been attached with overlapping cards or whose cards have been activated without consent, service providers must aid vehicle owners to cancel old ETC cards and register for a new valid one as soon and conveniently as possible.
The Transport Ministry is considering upgrading Decision No.19/2020/QD-TTg by the Prime Minister on collecting toll using ETC systems into a Decree. The new decree will better clarify the relationship between partners in ETC activities, becoming the legal foundation for specific sanctions for violations.
