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Consumers' group pans ETC operator over OBU pricing

The Consumers' Foundation (消基會) yesterday strongly criticized the government's deal with the electronic toll collection (ETC) operator on Tuesday, saying it disregards consumers' rights and interests.

The foundation said the negotiations to hammer out details of the ETC system, including retail prices of on-board units (OBUs), had been extended by one month to Aug. 1, as stated in a press statement from the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau on Tuesday.

But sole operator Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co (遠通電收) announced its pricing measures on Tuesday afternoon, adding that it had reached a consensus with the bureau.

Based on the new scheme, motorists would still be able to purchase OBUs for NT$680 in the three months after the final deal is inked.

After that, drivers could either rent an OBU for NT$240 a year or buy one.

The company has proposed raising the price to NT$1,150, which the foundation called unacceptable.

In a press statement, the foundation demanded that the government make the ETC system a state-run project if Far Eastern Electronic failed to propose new measures in line with public welfare principles because "traffic policies should not benefit private firms."

As the new deal was reached so quickly, the foundation said it suspected that bribes might have been paid, and hoped that an investigation would be launched.

In response, Far Eastern Electronic said the foundation had profoundly misunderstood the firm, adding that it hoped the watchdog group would examine the many solutions it had proposed for motorists.

The company's spokeswoman, Lang Ya-ling (郎亞玲), said that the NT$680 price for an OBU was a heavy burden financially because the price was far lower than the basic cost of the unit.

The company therefore proposed different measures for motorists, including OBU rental and purchases, she said.

As the nation's highway toll collection system will be transformed into a mileage-based system in the future and Far Eastern Electronic will have to invest NT$2 billion (US$60 million) more for facility installation, the company estimated that it would not break even until the 14th or 15th year of operations, she said.
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