Tolls getting cheaper, etc.

[omae mona]

[floatr][/floatr]Asahi: Toll reductions to start amid confusion, criticism
Record reductions in highway toll fees will start later this month amid criticism that the new system is too complicated and could exacerbate traffic congestion on expressways and pollution.
..
For example, there are currently six different tolls for a motorist traveling from Shinagawa in Tokyo to Sendai on the Shuto (metropolitan) Expressway and Tohoku Expressway.

Under the new fee system, there will be 17 different tolls. That's because different discounts will be introduced in urban and rural areas in addition to those depending on time zones.

The highest toll for that route will be 7,230 yen while the lowest will be 2,000 yen. ..more..

I got even more confused reading the article! The one thing that's clear is that you are going to be badly punished, financially, for travelling highways without an ETC device.

[Behan]

It seems like they are trying to force everyone to get ETC. Even now, at a lot of toll booths, there are as many or more ETC lanes even though those lanes go faster. And the money lanes are often off to the side.

Damn those rich people with ETC! (and navigation)

[Taro Toporific]

Damn those rich people with ETC!

Shimpai-nai!
The damn ETC machine always rounds up to the nearest 5 yen on toll discounts, which means over the course one year of my ETC tolls cost me an additional 5,00yen, arrrg.

[FG Lurker]

It seems like they are trying to force everyone to get ETC. Even now, at a lot of toll booths, there are as many or more ETC lanes even though those lanes go faster. And the money lanes are often off to the side.

Damn those rich people with ETC! (and navigation)

Top-level navi systems are still quite expensive but there are much cheaper ones now that will get you where you want to go.

ETC is dirt cheap. Basic ETC setup is under 10,000 for sure, probably 8000 or so. I think you need a j-credit card to get the ETC bills but beyond that it's not a big deal.

[Greji]

Top-level navi systems are still quite expensive but there are much cheaper ones now that will get you where you want to go.

ETC is dirt cheap. Basic ETC setup is under 10,000 for sure, probably 8000 or so. I think you need a j-credit card to get the ETC bills but beyond that it's not a big deal.

I've had ETC since it came out and besides being convenient in not having to dig out the coins or wallet everytime, the discounts at certain rush hour, or peak times add up when you commute by car everyday like I do (except for the times when the damn car gets drunk and has to remain in a Roppongi parking lot overnight. Love those 2k 24 hour deals!)

You have to sync it through the detailer or garage with your credit card, which could take a day.

The down side is that the tolls AND TOLL BOOTH's are listed on your credit card bill each month i.e. "What were you doing getting on the freeway at Horinouchi/Yoshiwara/any neon area/ at 0 dark thirty on the 23rd of January?" All alibai/lies now have to be extended to cover over a one month period with the installation of this device.

[canman]

Ways to cheat the ETC. They have a campaign here on the Tohoku expressway that if you drive less than 100km, you can get a 50% discount. But really any place worth going is more than that. So my student got two different etc cards for two different credit cards. He drives a distance, gets off and then takes out the one etc card, puts in the other, makes a U-turn and enters with the new etc card and gets the 50% discount again. He told me his friend has 5 cards. Now that is a pain in the neck to save some money.

[Behan]

The down side is that the tolls AND TOLL BOOTH's are listed on your credit card bill each month i.e. "What were you doing getting on the freeway at Horinouchi/Yoshiwara/any neon area/ at 0 dark thirty on the 23rd of January?" All alibai/lies now have to be extended to cover over a one month period with the installation of this device.

Maybe you could tell your wife that you are such a nice guy that when (insert FG member name like Taro or Iraira) called you begging for a ride home, you couldn't say no.

[FG Lurker]

The down side is that the tolls AND TOLL BOOTH's are listed on your credit card bill each month i.e. "What were you doing getting on the freeway at Horinouchi/Yoshiwara/any neon area/ at 0 dark thirty on the 23rd of January?" All alibai/lies now have to be extended to cover over a one month period with the installation of this device.

ETC charges go on my AMEX card. Wife does not open AMEX bills. Problem solved.

[Greji]

Maybe you could tell your wife that you are such a nice guy that when (insert FG member name like Taro or Iraira) called you begging for a ride home, you couldn't say no.

My wife would accept a nice excuse like "I'm late because I was breechloading Noriko!" But saying that I was giving Taro and Iraira a ride home," would be like "you three been in the goat pen again!", stand by for incoming divorce documents. I'm really getting sick of doing all that documentation over and over again.

[FG Lurker]

My wife would accept a nice excuse like "I'm late because I was breechloading Noriko!" But saying that I was giving Taro and Iraira a ride home," would be like "you three been in the goat pen again!", stand by for incoming divorce documents. I'm really getting sick of doing all that documentation over and over again.

I have a similar problem... Breechloading Noriko would be fine. Taking her out for dinner in the car wouldn't be.

[IkemenTommy]

The down side is that the tolls AND TOLL BOOTH's are listed on your credit card bill each month i.e. "What were you doing getting on the freeway at Horinouchi/Yoshiwara/any neon area/ at 0 dark thirty on the 23rd of January?" All alibai/lies now have to be extended to cover over a one month period with the installation of this device.

That can be worked around by carrying two ETCs and having the right one sent to your work address or one of your mistresses'. It can be done.

[Greji]

That can be worked around by carrying two ETCs and having the right one sent to your work address or one of your mistresses'. It can be done.

You know I hear about these two or more ETC cards all the time and it would appear doable with them assigned to one or more credit cards. The problem is the ETC setup. Most will be set up for a specific card and will not use another. I had my tractor overhauled the other day and was given a daisha to use while it was in the garage. I tried my ETC card with it and it would not work. The machine in the car could not read it because it was not set up to do so. I had to physically hand my card to the Toll gate attendant each time. So I'm a little sceptical about some of these multi-ETC operations I hear about.

[omae mona]

I had my tractor overhauled the other day and was given a daisha to use while it was in the garage.

Jeez, Greji, I thought even you would insist on something a little bit classier than a daisha.



I'm not sure that cardboard box taped onto the handle was a proper ETC card reader.

[Number11]

You get a 5,250 yen reimbursement from the Ministry of Land and Tolls and Highways and All Kinds of Stuff to purchase the reader.

[Greji]

Jeez, Greji, I thought even you would insist on something a little bit classier than a daisha.

It's you that don't have any class OM. I mean pushing one of them around like a kick scooter. I'd be ashamed. I gots me one with a 2 cycle Briggs Straton mounted. It can run with the best of the Izuzu Dumps!

[wuchan]

FUCK J-HIGHWAYS!!!!! Most places you will actually drive, not counting mountain areas, there is a major road next to or under the highway. Follow the trucks, they know the best routes. The tolls are fucked, more than FGs. It may take you an extra 20 minutes to get where you are going but you will spend 2,000en(or more) less. Also, fuck the speed limit.

[omae mona]

It's you that don't have any class OM.

I disagree. I got to Noriko before any of the rest of you caught on.

[Behan]

FUCK J-HIGHWAYS!!!!! Most places you will actually drive, not counting mountain areas, there is a major road next to or under the highway. Follow the trucks, they know the best routes. The tolls are fucked, more than FGs. It may take you an extra 20 minutes to get where you are going but you will spend 2,000en(or more) less. Also, fuck the speed limit.

Driving on the Wangan Highway I have looked over and seen cars passing me on the free Route 357 next to it. They have to stop for lights but late at night when the roads aren't crowded it makes you wonder why you should pay so much for the toll roads.

[Greji]

I disagree. I got to Noriko before any of the rest of you caught on.

Noriko takes ETC?

[FG Lurker]

Noriko takes ETC?

Apparently if you don't have the card in right the automatic gates come down and chop your dick off.

[IkemenTommy]

Apparently if you don't have the card in right the automatic gates come down and chop your dick off.

Does the card slide in sideways or vertically?

[Mike Oxlong]

The down side is that the tolls AND TOLL BOOTH's are listed on your credit card bill each month i.e. "What were you doing getting on the freeway at Horinouchi/Yoshiwara/any neon area/ at 0 dark thirty on the 23rd of January?" All alibai/lies now have to be extended to cover over a one month period with the installation of this device.

You never use The Alibi Network?

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Maehara - 1,000-yen flat-rate highway toll to end

The government will scrap the 1,000-yen flat-rate highway toll on weekends and holidays and introduce an new system that will likely force drivers of passenger cars to pay more, transport minister Seiji Maehara said Sunday. The new rates, based on vehicle type, will be set next month, and the categorized toll system will be introduced around June, Maehara said. The new system will likely benefit drivers of large vehicles covering long distances, such as trucks. The government plan will also take into consideration the intentions of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan to set the maximum toll for minicars, with engine displacements of 660cc or less, considerably lower than that for regular passenger vehicles. However, the envisioned plan will likely draw fire from owners of regular passenger cars who will end up paying more for long trips on weekends or holidays.

Maehara told a Fuji Television Network news program Sunday that the government will honor its pledge to remove tolls on some expressway routes. For routes whose tolls will not be removed, he said the government would "make clear the maximum tolls to be levied on minicars, regular passenger cars and trucks." The current 1,000-yen flat rate system was introduced in March for a two-year period. Maehara defended the move to switch systems midway, saying, "We will take into consideration the program introduced during the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito administration as a pilot experiment." Under the current arrangement, vehicles are charged tolls based on the distance traveled, with discounts offered for vehicles equipped with electronic toll collection devices using expressways on weekends, holidays or during late-night hours. The new system would set maximum tolls depending on vehicle type, regardless of the day of week or region.

The government will not change the current fixed tolls applied on the Shuto Expressway in the Tokyo metropolitan area or the Hanshin Expressway that covers the Osaka area. The annual amount to be discounted will be around the same as the current 500 billion yen. The new toll system reflects calls from the DPJ for a unified highway toll system. The ruling party is also calling for allocating increased income from revisions of the discount system for highway construction. However, Maehara has objected to this idea, saying it "goes against traditional party line."

[canman]

I will beat Lurker to the punch, on this one. Although I think he may be for this system. But talk about an about face, I can understand the that making the express roads free was perhaps a little pie in the sky, but now turning around and charging passenger cars more than anybody else to use the express road is a real slap in the face. And what about all the people who went out and purchased the ETC device, was that just a gift to the electronic makers?
If they think they have any chance of winning the upper house election this coming summer, good luck, you just gave it the LDP.

[TennoChinko]

With some of the other proposed changes to the tax code such as eliminating the deduction for families with children , it sounds like the DPJ really is all about higher taxes for the average voter. What happened to all the lauded "Manifesto" promises?

[FG Lurker]

I will beat Lurker to the punch, on this one. Although I think he may be for this system. But talk about an about face, I can understand the that making the express roads free was perhaps a little pie in the sky, but now turning around and charging passenger cars more than anybody else to use the express road is a real slap in the face.

According to the MDN it will be 1000yen for kei, 2000yen for other cars, and 5000yen for trucks. Like the 1000yen system it won't apply to the Tokyo and Osaka metro areas but it will be in place on all days and will be the same for both cash and ETC.

The DPJ basically lied and cheated their way to power, which shouldn't surprise anyone really as they are little more than the dregs who left the LDP. They swore up and down that they would keep their erection promises but at this point I can't think of a single one (of any importance anyway) that they have actually kept. Instead they have managed to fuck up more things than even I thought was possible in such a short period of time. I can't imagine that big DPJ supporters are enjoying this too much either, they're getting ass fucked with no lube. (Tried to find an appropriate ass-fuck emoticon but alas none seem to exist...)

And what about all the people who went out and purchased the ETC device, was that just a gift to the electronic makers?

Well, in fairness this isn't the DPJ's fault. The LDP tossed the ETC bone to the makers/sellers/installers, there was really no need to make the 1000en plan ETC-only.

If they think they have any chance of winning the upper house election this coming summer, good luck, you just gave it the LDP.

The sheeple were suckered into voting for the DPJ once, it could certainly happen again.

[james]

[IkemenTommy]

[Greji]

I am for raising the price on those old momiji farts like Greji.

Just pay your tax boy. It all goes to my nenkin.....

[FG Lurker]

Just pay your tax boy. It all goes to my nenkin.....

The fucked nenkin system is just one more reason why my next business will be HK based and has nothing to do with Japan...