Highway Toll Discount Extended: 3 Years for Eco-Friendly Vehicles, 2 Years for Freight Trucks

The government will extend the toll discount for eco-friendly vehicles and freight vehicles on highways, which is scheduled to expire at the end of this year. However, the toll discount rate for eco-friendly vehicles will be reduced from 50% this year to 20% by 2027.

View of the Gyeongbu Expressway from Jamwon IC, Seocho-gu, Seoul / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 12th that it will give public notice of the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Toll Road Act with these details until the 12th of next month.

The toll discount for eco-friendly vehicles will be extended for three more years, but the discount rate will be gradually reduced each year. This is based on the assessment that highway tolls have been frozen for nine years, limiting the funds available for highway maintenance and management.

Since 2017, the Ministry has been providing a 50% toll discount for eco-friendly vehicles. The discount has been extended twice so far and was scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

Accordingly, the discount rate for eco-friendly vehicles will gradually decrease to 40% next year, 30% in 2026, and 20% in 2027. The Ministry plans to use part of the funds secured from the reduction in the discount rate to support vulnerable groups, such as providing toll discounts for rental cars for people with disabilities.

The discount for freight vehicles operating during late-night hours will be extended for two years under the current conditions. The late-night discount system for freight vehicles was introduced in 2000 to distribute traffic and reduce logistics costs. Since then, the discount has been extended twelve times and was scheduled to end at the end of this year.

Freight vehicle tolls are discounted by 50% if the late-night operation rate between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. the next day is between 70% and 100%, and by 30% if it is between 20% and 70%. The system providing a 30% toll discount for buses equipped with Autonomous Emergency Braking System (AEBS) effectively ended last year when the new application period closed.

Lee Woo-je, Director of the Road Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Highway tolls are an important living expense that directly and indirectly affects the lives of the people. This extension of the discount is the result of a comprehensive review of the government's policy direction to create a safe highway environment and stabilize people’s livelihoods, and we hope it will contribute to stabilizing the lives of the public."