An unmanned toll machine is put into use at the Southern Taihu Lake toll station in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/hz66.com]

An unmanned toll machine was recently put into operation at the Southern Taihu Lake toll station in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province.

When a resident surnamed Zhang entered the toll station, he was greeted by a prompt stating, "Please insert the pass code and show the payment code." After following the instruction, it only took Zhang 17 seconds to pay the toll at the machine.

The Southern Taihu Lake toll station, which opened in December 2018, controls 10 lanes, with four in and six out. 

With the opening of tourism facilities like Taihu Lake Longemont Paradise and the Southern Taihu Lake Tourism Resort, the station's traffic flow has grown from the initial daily average of 800 vehicles to 10,000 vehicles, with traffic jams occurring at times during peak travel times like weekends or holidays.

The launch of the unmanned toll machine, the first of its kind in northern Zhejiang, comes as part of local transport authorities' efforts to relieve traffic congestion and optimize personnel allocation.

The machine, which is able to identify various kinds of vehicles like cars, trucks, and semi-trailers, allows drivers to pay toll fees by themselves on digital payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat.

It is also installed with a button, in which drivers can consult someone if they have questions by pressing on it.

A local official said that the machine will reduce the workloads of local traffic law enforcement authorities.

The Southern Taihu Lake toll station, which opened in December 2018, controls 10 lanes, with four in and six out. [Photo/hz66.com]