ETC Smart Mobility National Team Takes a Huge Step Southbound In 2021 and A New Industry Is Taking Shape 

Shen Jong-Chin, vice premier of Executive Yuan said, “We are now witnessing the birth of a brand-new industry in Taiwan. In response to the pandemic, governments around the world prioritize green and sustainable policies and encourage industries to adopt AI, cloud computing, big data and other technologies for a smart future.”

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) entrusted Board of Transportation Technology and Industry to build a smart mobility national team. The team is devoted to the development of electric buses, drones, vehicle to everything and smart corridors . It is responsible to provide venues for various transportation related R&D projects . The aim is to create a smart corridor  national team and vehicle to everything in line with international standards. Experiments and trials s are conducted in these venues to ensure all technology and applications employed follow international standards. This will accelerate the integration of technologies and services domestically and allow the team to provide turnkey solutions in the Southeast Asian market. 

In addition, vice premier Shen believes that,” Taiwan excels in engineering, manufacturing, and service industries. We are capable of providing solutions based on the ecology and infrastructure of the industries in respective countries."  The government's new southbound policy has created a win-win situation between Taiwan and the new southbound countries. Aside from hosting various industrial forums, exhibitions, and overseas e-commerce Taiwan pavilions to help suppliers expand their businesses in the new southbound market, the government also offers subsidies for overseas expansion and the establishment of national teams for overseas projects. The government also signed Bilateral Investment Agreements (BIA) to ensure the rights and interests of Taiwanese enterprises.  

"ETC is a great example of digital transformation!" Vice premier Shen told us, the government’s ETC program for highways is built and run by Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection (FETC). Through trial and error, FETC eventually came up with an ideal smart total solution.

The government led the team to ITS World Congress in Bordeaux, France in 2015 to showcase Taiwan’s progress in ETC technology. He stressed that, when the other countries were still talking about theories and principles, Taiwan had already made progress in actually implementing an ETC system on highways. Many countries showed great interest in Taiwan's ETC solution. 

We have sold a ETC turnkey solution to Thailand. It is the first success of the smart mobility national team abroad. The accomplishment will no doubt encourage suppliers to continue their business endeavors and part-take in the building of more intelligent transportation systems and infrastructure projects in Thailand and other new southbound countries. The transactions will further deepen the economic and trade exchanges between countries. In the future, the ETC system will become the cornerstone of smart cities around the world with its information network.  

Taiwan ETC Won Three World Firsts

With a daily traffic volume of up to 3.2 million vehicles and nearly 16 million transactions, ETC has set three world records, including, the first country with a fully electronic toll collection system; the first country to convert completely to barrier-less electronic toll gates, and the only country with a 926-kilometer e-tolling network. This fully demonstrates Taiwan's strength in ITS. The ETC system won many awards at home and abroad. Many new southbound countries came to Taiwan to learn from the success. The ETC system also received the honor of Outstanding System Integration Solutions in 2021 as the representative of new southbound countries. 

Jaw Shing-Hau , director general of Freeway  Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications pointed out that, “ Taiwan is the only place with such a large scale electronic toll collection service on national highways in the world. Zero-contact highways is a norm in Taiwan now. Taiwan's success can be shared with every country in the world.” The ETC Taiwan Team has achieved great accomplishment in the building, operating and service of e-toll system. Which is why Thailand has required the national team’s services as well. Here are the three reasons why ETC has acquired incomparable success. 

Reason 1

Construction: Taiwan sets a record of completing 319 overhead gantries in 10 months with zero safety issues or accidents. This sets an exemplary record for other countries to see.  

Reason 2

Operation: ETC holds the world highest detection accuracy rate of 99.9% and tolling accuracy rate of 99.97%. The extreme high bar in license plate recognition gives the system a competitive edge all over the world.  

Reason 3

Services: This includes communication with the public, charging policies, diversified payment channels, auditing, and security, etc. Experience is crucial to smart mobility management. According to Jaw, they are able to predict traffic conditions and implement necessary management measures by analyzing nearly 16 million entries of big data per day.  

Jaw Shing-Hau , Director General of Expressway Bureau, Ministry of Communications

Two Key Indicators in Overseas ETC Turnkey Solutions 

Will the success of ETC turnkey solution overseas shed light on how an intelligent industry can be formed and subsequently gain exposure in the global market?

Tapping into 20 years of experience, YC Chang, Managing Director of FETC, shares his insight on ETC solutions and highlights two key indicators.  

Key 1: PPP X BOT Government-Private Collaboration

Chang pointed out that, ETC is a Public Private Partnership (PPP), X BOT model. This means, a private sector runs an operation at a public venue provided by the government. Within a designated time period, the private enterprise will test, revise and adapt intelligent technology, gain experience in daily operation and compose optimal service model based on user experience. Through trial and error, new ideas are formed. This is a prolonged process that requires follow ups and upgrades through continued investment in R&D. It is the only and rightful path to nurture an intelligent technology industry and truly make sustainable transportation into something feasible and practical. This is what will allow Taiwan manufacturers to play in the World league in time.  

Key 2: TaaS Tolling-As-A-Service Model

The 2012 Tolling as a Sevice, TaaS is the answer FETC proudly presents after deconstructing the "magic" of intelligent transportation turnkey solution for customers overseas. To Chang, traffic is all about people. Drivers behind the wheels have a different set of behavior and corresponding needs. The key here is user experience and service. It is necessary to tailor transportation services to individual needs. Therefore, ETC is designed as a personalized cloud-based transportation toll service!"  FETC studied in-depth the user experience of automobile owners and offers personalized mobility valet services, including eTag, links for credit card applications, and mobile apps for maps and fees. There may even be personal parking services available in the future. 

Taiwan's ETC Smart Mobility National Team Took a Big Step Southbound, Reproducing Their Success in Thailand. The Picture Shows Chang Yong-Chang, Managing Director and General Manager of FETC.

Going from personalized service through vertical integration to X as a Service, Chang believes that human-centric is secret to success of Taiwan’s national team. The future of smart mobility hinges on personalized mobility services through intelligent systems, naming MaaS (Mobility as a Service). This is where Taiwan suppliers should focus on and dedicate their time and effort to at the moment. There is no doubt that all turnkey solutions must be backed by services provided by no less than an entire innovative industry.