BEIJING — China has laid out a specific timetable to meet the goal of removing all expressway toll booths at provincial borders by the end of 2019, an official with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said on May 10.

All expressway toll booths will be removed except for those at the entrances and the exits, said Dai Dongchang, vice-minister of the MOT, at a press conference.

The move aims to solve the issue of expressway traffic congestion at provincial borders, according to the MOT.

To meet the target on schedule, the MOT will speed up the work on improving toll collecting system and promoting the application of non-stop electronic toll collection (ETC) system.

“Removing expressway toll booths does not mean canceling toll collection, but to realize fast and non-stop ETC through technological means,” Dai said.

The time of passenger cars crossing the provincial borders is expected to be shortened to two seconds from former 15 seconds, while that of freight trucks will be cut down to three seconds from 29 seconds under normal circumstances, resolving the issue of traffic congestion and significantly conserving energy and reducing emissions.

By the end of 2018, China’s expressway mileage hit 142,600 km, official data showed.