Vehicles Rented by People with Disabilities Can Now Use "Expressways" at Half Price!

- Vehicles owned by people with disabilities or their families are eligible for a 50% discount on expressway tolls

- ACRC made "institutional improvement recommendations": rented vehicles used by people with disabilities should also receive discounts on tolls

(22, May. 2024, ACRC)

A decision has been made that not only vehicles owned by people with disabilities but vehicles rented and used by them should also be included in the scope of eligibility for a 50% discount on expressway tolls.

The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan) recommended institutional improvements to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) that vehicles rented by people with disabilities for one year or more through "lease" or "rent" should also be eligible for a 50% discount on expressway tolls currently offered to vehicles owned by them.

In February 2024, Person A who has disabilities filed a grievance complaint to ACRC, requesting that people with disabilities who use rented vehicles due to financial hardship be eligible for the same 50% discount on expressway that applies to those use their own vehicles.

The current laws and regulations concerning toll roads stipulate that vehicles owned by people with disabilities, lightweight cars (less than 1,000cc), and vehicles owned by persons of national merit should receive the 50% discount on expressway tolls.

According to an investigation conducted by ACRC, the scope of eligibility for the issuance of permits for designated parking for people with disabilities, designed to facilitate the mobility of people with disabilities, includes not only vehicles owned by persons with disabilities but also vehicles rented by them.

Therefore, it was determined that there is no reason to treat vehicles rented by people with disabilities differently from vehicles owned by them regarding discounts on expressway tolls in order to facilitate their mobility as the issuance of permits for designated parking for people with disabilities.

Furthermore, ACRC estimated the additional amount of discount at approximately 370 million won even after including around 6,300 vehicles rented by people with disabilities in the toll discount as of 2023 and concluded that it is difficult to deem that the financial burden is relatively large compared to the annual tollrevenue of over 4 trillion won.

In response, ACRC expressed its opinion that the MOLIT improve relevant institutions to include vehicles rented and used by people with disabilities for one year or more in the scope of eligibility for discounts on tolls.

ACRC Vice Chairperson Kim Tae Gyu said, "The recent decision aligns the scope of eligibility for receiving the issuance of permits for designated parking for people with disabilities under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health and Welfare with the scope of people with disabilities eligible for toll discounts under the jurisdiction of the MOLIT. ACRC will remain committed to formulating reasonable institutional improvementmeasures at the pan-governmental level."