The once 'frustrating' Hi-Pass now 'zooms' through at 80 km/h

▲ Comparison diagram of the Gyeongbu Expressway Seoul Tollgate and the Yeongdong Expressway Buk Suwon Tollgate improved with multi-lane Hi-Pass (Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The maximum speed for passing through Hi-Pass, which previously required drivers to slow down to 30 km/h causing frustration, will be increased to 80 km/h.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 17th that it will significantly expand and install 'multi-lane Hi-Pass' nationwide, completing a total of 60 locations by next year. Multi-lane Hi-Pass removes lane separation facilities between two or more Hi-Pass lanes to secure a wider lane width (at least 3.6m), thereby increasing the passing speed at Hi-Pass tollgates.

The currently operated single-lane Hi-Pass often has a lane width of less than 3.5m, resulting in a speed limit set at 30 km/h. This has led to complaints from drivers feeling uneasy and inconvenienced. In contrast, multi-lane Hi-Pass has lane widths identical to the mainline, allowing drivers to pass through tollgates at normal driving speeds comfortably. However, considering safety, the Ministry plans to set speed limits based on consultations with the National Police Agency: 80 km/h for mainline-type tollgates and 50 km/h for interchange-type tollgates.

A survey conducted on about 500 users at multi-lane Hi-Pass tollgates installed at Seoul Tollgate on the Gyeongbu Expressway and Buk Suwon Tollgate on the Yeongdong Expressway showed that satisfaction with multi-lane Hi-Pass was significantly higher than with single-lane Hi-Pass. The overall satisfaction score for single-lane Hi-Pass was 3.18 out of 5, while multi-lane Hi-Pass scored 4.10. Particularly, for speed and safety, single-lane scored 2.79 and 2.91 respectively, whereas multi-lane scored 4.05 and 4.07, showing increases of 1.26 and 1.16 points respectively.

▲ Comparison diagram of multi-lane Hi-Pass structure by step difference (Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

Accordingly, the Ministry plans to expand the installation of multi-lane Hi-Pass to a total of 60 tollgates by next year. Currently, multi-lane Hi-Pass is installed at 15 locations, including 9 mainline-type and 6 interchange-type tollgates. This year, the Ministry plans to prioritize installing multi-lane Hi-Pass at 13 mainline-type tollgates with high traffic volumes and significant business effects, such as Dong Seoul Tollgate on the Jungbu Expressway and Siheung Tollgate on the Seoul Ring Expressway, where 80 km/h operation is possible. Next year, an additional 4 mainline-type tollgates and 28 interchange-type tollgates with heavy traffic will be equipped with multi-lane Hi-Pass.

The Ministry expects significant economic benefits from multi-lane Hi-Pass. Faster tollgate passage is anticipated to generate annual benefits of approximately 140 billion KRW, including reduced travel time (111.3 billion KRW), lower operating costs (23.2 billion KRW), and decreased environmental costs (5.5 billion KRW). Additionally, the processing capacity per Hi-Pass lane is expected to increase by up to 64%, from 1,100 vehicles per hour to 1,800 vehicles per hour, contributing to easing congestion and reducing traffic accidents near tollgates.

Kim Yong-seok, Director of the Road Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "We will continue to expand multi-lane Hi-Pass and develop innovative measures for overall expressway operations to establish a service-oriented expressway system."

▲Multi-lane Hi-Pass Replacement Project Effects (Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.