On February 24th at midnight, the toll-free passage on highways during the Chinese New Year holiday officially came to an end. At the toll booths on the highways, some vehicles rushed to pass through before the toll-free lane closed, while others failed to make it in time and had to pay several hundred yuan for passage.
February 23rd, the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, marked the end of the holiday period with the nation experiencing a peak in return traffic.
Located at the junction of Anhui Province’s Quanjiao County and adjacent to the provinces of Anhui and Jiangsu, the Wuzhuang toll plaza saw a surge of returning traffic. The toll plaza has a total of 36 lanes in both directions, making it the toll plaza with the most lanes in the country.
During the holiday period, small passenger cars with seven seats or fewer were allowed toll-free passage from midnight on February 15th to 24:00 on February 23rd. The time for toll-free passage is determined based on the time the vehicle exits the toll booth at the highway exit.
Around 11:50 PM at the Wuzhuang toll plaza, some vehicles noticeably accelerated and passed through the toll booth successively. As midnight approached, several vehicles sped through in the rain, almost getting stuck at the toll plaza just moments before the toll-free passage ended. Even after the toll-free period ended, vehicles continued to arrive, requiring drivers to pay tolls.
At 11:59 PM on February 23rd, a vehicle with a license plate from Inner Mongolia passed through the Gongjialing toll plaza in Wuhan. The owner, Mr. Wang, said that during the holiday period, he and his friends drove from Inner Mongolia to Hainan and Guangdong for a trip, then from Guangdong to Wuhan, saving over a thousand yuan in toll fees between the two vehicles.
Mr. Liu from Huangmei had to pay over 80 yuan in toll fees because he rested at a service area for half an hour, causing him to exit the highway a few minutes late.
Around 12:11 AM on February 24th, a vehicle coming from Xiaoshan, Zhejiang passed through the Gongjialing toll plaza, with the toll system displaying a fee of over 400 yuan. The owner mentioned that they didn’t manage their time well on the road and expressed the need to leave early next time.
Toll booth staff suggested that drivers should choose a toll plaza closer to their destination to save money on toll fees.