Qingdao drivers can enjoy non-stop travel when passing toll stations along freeways in regions outside Shandong province in October, Qingdao Morning News reported on Wednesday.

Shandong's freeway ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) network will connect with Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Shanxi in October. Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei have already connected their ETC systems. The network will benefit more than two million drivers after the participation of Shandong and Shanxi.

It will be the second largest ETC network in the country. Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces established the first non-stop toll network in August 2012.

Drivers will no longer need to pay tolls in the future, stopping their vehicles and fetching payment cards at toll stations, within the five cities and provinces if they carry ETC cards. They will also get a 5 percent discount on tolls.

Shangdong High-Speed Group, the management organization of Shandong's freeways, recently issued a card called the "Credit Union Card," which can be used to pay for freeway tolls, gas, catering, entertainment, insurance, tourism and parking, Sdhsg.com reported.

Statistics show that the ETC lane can handle 1,000 vehicles per hour, two or more times normal lanes. The ETC system is a reasonable solution for the jams at nationwide toll stations. However, it still faces obstacles such as incorporating various standards of ETC equipment and toll settlement credit issues in different regions in the country.