Taiwan will equip all vehicles that use the national freeways with an electronic toll collection (ETC) system by December 2012, the National Expressway Bureau has announced.

The system will make vehicles subject to tolls based on their driving mileage on the freeways.

The move is expected to reduce the number of vehicles on freeways by providing an incentive for short-distance freeway users to use toll-free general highways instead.

The bureau will introduce new toll rates in April 2010 for both short-distance and long-distance freeway trips, with lower tolls for longer distances, bureau officials said.