Skip to main content

Japan's toll-free pilot

The Japanese Government is planning to make several expressway sections toll-free. This forms part of a pilot programme, with six sections of the country's expressway network intended to be made toll-free for all vehicles.
February 10, 2012 Read time: 1 min
The Japanese Government is planning to make several expressway sections toll-free. This forms part of a pilot programme, with six sections of the country's expressway network intended to be made toll-free for all vehicles. The six road sections being considered for the pilot programme measure a total of 330km and include stretches of the Oita Expressway, Akita Expressway and the Doto Expressway. A further five more sections may be made toll-free for trucks and other large vehicles that are driven at night. These five sections would be made toll-free under the pilot scheme until December 2011 but the tolling would then be resumed for the winter. These five sections measure around 1,500km and include sections of the Kyushu Expressway and Tohoku Expressway. The government is also considering extending its existing toll-free pilot programme for fiscal 2010 until end-June 2011. The programme, which involved lifting tolls on 37 sections of 50 expressway routes, will expire on 31 March 2011 unless it is given the additional extension now under review.

Related Content

  • Minister gives green light for UK road schemes
    May 8, 2012
    Roads Minister Mike Penning yesterday gave the green light for development work to be carried out on six new major UK road schemes. The development work, which will take place over the next three years, aims to prime the road schemes for completion in the early years of the next spending review period (post 2015). The six proposed road schemes, which aim to boost economic growth as part of the Government’s National Infrastructure Plan, are:
  • Bulgaria plans for operating road infrastructure
    February 21, 2012
    There is a lot of work to do on Bulgarian roads, but the government has plans to increase the length of highways built each year as Krasimir Krastanov reports. Bulgarian roads with a pavement make up 98.4% of all the country's roads, while 92.5% of them have an asphalt surface and 82.8% of them are able to carry 10tonnes/axle.
  • Britain’s M6toll rewards its 190 millionth customer
    May 18, 2016
    Britain’s M6toll motorway - now up for sale - has awarded its 190 millionth customer with a year’s free travel. James Hodson, director of motorway operations for toll road operator Midland Expressway, said it could save the driver around €2,550 over the year. The driver’s car was fitted with an M6toll Tag, a small electronic device fitted to a vehicle’s windscreen. It allows users to pre-pay for their journeys and pass through a dedicated lane usually without the need to stop. Tags normally cost a mon
  • UK ‘pauses’ smart motorway rollout
    January 12, 2022
    New All Lane Running smart motorway schemes halted until five years of safety data is available.