Mr. Pham Van Thieu, living in Tay Mo, Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi, said that his car had just been inspected so he had to pay the road fee right away. He paid the road fee for 24 months and lost 3 million VND.
Mr. Thieu said that living and working in the capital, he often goes to work by motorbike to avoid traffic jams. He only goes to his hometown occasionally by car. Therefore, if calculating the number of kilometers Mr. Thieu uses in a year, it will be very little. Meanwhile, many people who work as 4-seat car drivers travel a lot but the fee is not higher than his.
Mr. Thieu said that collecting road fees based on time as it is now is not realistic. Collecting road fees based on kilometers would be more realistic.
Regarding this issue, recently, voters of Da Nang city also sent a petition to the Ministry of Transport stating that: "For vehicles in circulation, it should be calculated by the number of kilometers the vehicle has traveled on the road" instead of calculating by year, month or inspection cycle as currently.
Responding to this issue, the Ministry of Transport said that currently, road fees collected through automobile vehicles are implemented according to the provisions of Decree No. 90/2023/ND-CP dated December 13, 2023 of the Government stipulating the collection rates, collection, payment, exemption, management and use of road use fees.
This is a collection method that has been researched, approved and applied by the Government for many years and has been approved by the people.
Besides, the collection organization is convenient, easy to apply and encourages vehicle owners to effectively exploit vehicles in transportation business activities.
The Ministry of Transport added that, taking into account voters' opinions, the Ministry of Transport will synthesize and make recommendations to the Ministry of Finance when there is a request to participate in amending Decree 90/2023/ND-CP dated December 13, 2023 of the Government.
The Ministry of Transport also said: “However, if the collection method is changed according to voters’ opinions, it is necessary to invest in and organize a system to monitor and supervise toll collection, leading to a large amount of expenditure for toll collection organizations, reducing the budget for the state. At the same time, it does not encourage the effective exploitation of invested vehicles.”
