A 5ch thread took off after someone linked a Diamond Online article about the “ETC-cancellation crowd.” With ETC usage on expressways now topping 90% and more and more tollbooths going ETC-only, the thread dug into why some drivers deliberately choose to pay cash instead. Alongside practical reasons — needing paper receipts for expense reports, being unable to get a credit card, or wanting to avoid annual fees and renewal hassle — there were also joking remarks like “because it leaves a record of where you’ve been,” plus plenty of grumbling about the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s push to migrate everyone from old ETC to the newer ETC2.0 standard.
So THAT’s the deal with the “ETC-cancellation crowd”! The surprising reasons people still pay cash | Diamond Online
Mitsuru Takahashi: Editor/Writer
Lifestyle — Is That Really True? “Common Sense” About Cars
Source: diamond.jp / Original article here
Well, it's Diamond Online, so… what did you expect.
So basically, the media constantly bashes paper documents, hanko stamps, and faxes, while making their own contractors do the exact same thing. That's hilarious.
That's actually how it works in Taiwan.
Can't have that — the amakudari companies (ex-bureaucrats parachuted into cushy industry jobs) wouldn't make any money off it. Rejected.
I started using it recently and was amazed at how easy and cheap it is.
I bought a new car, and ETC was still a dealer option, if you can believe it. Though I just swapped in the ETC unit from my old car.
Same — for the same reason I don't install a dashcam either.
Just take the surface roads then.
Saying that is supposed to boost the ETC adoption rate how, exactly?
When you're using it for that, you use ETC as normal the rest of the time to maintain your "innocent" track record.
Depends on the card. My backup ETC card is unused and I'm not charged any annual fee for it.
I once had real trouble — went to use the highway, slotted in my ETC card, and the ETC unit itself was broken. That kind of thing is exactly why I don't want to rely on it completely.
Not everyone drives a car in the first place, anyway.
Feels less like an explanation and more like someone desperately trying to change the subject.
There are deposit-backed secured cards for that, or you could just use a debit card instead.
Didn't realize credit limits that low even existed.
The ETC website has a PDF certificate you can just download and send in. Paying cash in this day and age just to get a paper receipt — I can't believe an article like that actually convinced you (lol).
Same thing happened to me — got auto-canceled. Ever since, I make a point of using it regularly.
Handling that kind of case is an exception for them, so it's a pain. Paying cash gets processed instantly.
If you just stop in front of the barrier, someone's bound to come over, right?
That's not allowed — you can't even enter. Vehicles without ETC aren't permitted to use those lanes. And if you accidentally do get in, you follow the instructions over the intercom and exit.
Can there really be zero support staff around? Maybe that's only true for smart interchanges.
ETC2.0, you mean. And yeah, it's mandatory.
Lucky you, then — in four years you'll be forced out of the old system whether you like it or not, so the decision gets made for you.
I bought my VW ten years ago and ETC2.0 already came standard on it. Even its adaptive cruise control follow-driving is more polished than a lot of today's ◯◯◯ Sensing systems.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
ETC was formally rolled out in Japan in 2001, and usage now exceeds 90%. At the same time, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is pushing a transition from the old ETC standard to the newer “ETC2.0” standard, targeted for around 2030 — after which onboard units that don’t support the new standard are expected to stop working. Tollbooths are steadily going ETC-only as well, with cash and general lanes shrinking. In the thread, the most common reasons given for sticking with cash were practical: needing paper receipts for expense reporting, being unable to get a credit card, and wanting to avoid annual fees or renewal hassle. But there was also a recurring joking claim that cash avoids “leaving a record of an affair,” making it hard to tell how seriously to take that one. One lesser-known fact that came up: even people with a bankruptcy history can get an ETC card through deposit-backed secured card services. The thread saw a clear split between those calling for every lane to go ETC-only and those pointing out there will always be a segment of drivers who can’t or won’t switch — underscoring just how hard full automation of tollbooths really is.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “So THAT’s the deal with the “ETC-cancellation crowd”! The surprising reasons people still pay cash.”
