Before many riders have questioned, why many foreign highways stop charging when they are due, and the mainland highways have to charge when they are due, shouldn't they stop charging after paying off their debts? No, the first highway in The country to stop tolls was born!
The Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway will stop charging from 00:00 on March 3, 2022, and all vehicles passing through this section will be exempt from vehicle tolls, but if a vehicle passes through other highways and passes under the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway section, the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway will collect the fees for other sections. The Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway is the first expressway in Guangdong and the second expressway in China, which was completed and opened to traffic in 1989 and has a history of 33 years.
The Regulations on the Administration of Toll Roads, which came into effect on November 1, 2004, stipulate that the maximum period for charging tolls on operational highways in central and western provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall not exceed 30 years. That is to say, the expressway can only charge for a maximum of 30 years, and it is reasonable to say that the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway should stop charging in 2019, but in 2018, the Ministry of Transport issued the "Notice on Public Solicitation of Opinions", which stipulates that toll roads with large investment scale and long return period can exceed 30 years. In 1999, the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway was expanded, so it is reasonable to postpone the three-year suspension of charging.
Although there was also a highway that stopped charging before, but that was not because it expired, but because it was changed to an urban expressway, that is, The Shanghai-Jia Expressway, in 2012, the Shanghai-Jia Expressway was adjusted to the Urban Expressway, becoming the first expressway to stop charging, but the expressway that stopped charging after the real expiration was still the Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway.
Let's take a look at which highways are likely to stop tolls in the coming years.
The Shenda Expressway was officially opened to traffic in October 1990, and it has reached a 30-year stop toll collection time, but because its profitability is not satisfactory, it has not stopped charging for the time being.
The Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan Expressway was fully opened on September 25, 1993, and may stop charging in the next two years.
In addition, the West Lin Expressway, Wuhuang Expressway, Hening Expressway, and Jiqing Expressway may gradually stop charging in recent years.
Why do some high-speed cities have not stopped charging at the specified time of 30 years? Most of the reasons are because the national highway as a whole is in a state of loss, therefore, most of the highways will appropriately extend the charging time, while some highways in the central and eastern regions, because of the better profitability, will end the toll relatively early.
The domestic high-speed has passed the stage of leapfrog development, and in another 10 years, there will be more and more toll-free highways in China.