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Getting drivers out of cars, into car pools

March 6, 2009, Friday | Print Edition

HANGZHOU'S pilot carpool program is designed to cut traffic congestion and reduce car exhaust emissions. It has been warmly praised but there are some problems, as Tan Weiyun reports The Hangzhou government has recently launched a pilot carpool program, encouraging the city's private car owners to share vehicles, thus easing traffic congestion and reducing an individual's environmental impact.

The plan has been praised by Hangzhou's citizens and netizens.

"It is a good idea," said Xu Hexian, a saleswoman. "At a time when everyone tries to tighten his or her belt, people choosing car pool could reduce their commuting costs compared to driving alone."

However, in the Shijia Garden and Hangzhou East Software Park - two areas selected as the pilot sites, things are going not quite as well as expected.

"Few in our neighborhood are choosing to share with other people," Huang Ying, Party secretary of Shijia Garden community, told Xinmin Evening News.

The residential area has more than 300 private cars, a very high ratio compared to Hangzhou's other residential areas. "So far only three have found partners and it's not daily sharing, just on occasions."

The plan also received a cold shoulder in another selected area, the software park. A staff worker, who declined to reveal his name, said no more than two drivers had found partners to share the cars.

"The people who welcome the plan warmly are those who don't have cars," Huang said with a bitter smile. "But they're not part of the program."

The carpool program is tailored for private car owners based on the principles of voluntary and non-profit participation.

"Carpooling should be between drivers and drivers. And the 'share thing' that happens between those who have cars and who don't is really 'hitching a ride,' which is not part of the program," Chen Jie, the chief of the Industry Management Department of Hangzhou Transport Bureau, told the Xinmin Evening News.

"To decrease the air pollution produced by automobile emissions and ease traffic tensions are the two big reasons why the government encouraged the program. But hitching a ride does nothing to improve the air quality or make the traffic better, so it is not included in the program," Chen said.

Since 2003, Hangzhou has suffered 158 to 176 hazy days every year. To improve the environment in this tourist city, Hangzhou has introduced a series of eco-policies to fight the pollution and carpooling is one of them.

Hangzhou's downtown area is used daily by more than 460,000 cars, and about 360,000 of them are private cars.

"If a quarter of them join the program, that is nearly 100,000 cars and a total of 60 million liters of gasoline will be saved each year," Chen calculated. "It will be a dramatic cut in car emissions."

The director also pointed out that the non-profit is not 100 percent free of charge. "Some compensation is allowed between drivers," Chen said.

The intentions are good but putting them into practice is not easy. "Many issues are raised and many problems need to be solved if the program is to become policy," Huang said.

Some car owners in Shijia Garden expressed concerns about carpooling, such as what happens if accidents occur, what if things are lost in cars, what kind of insurance do drivers need to buy.

"Currently we don't have detailed solutions because car sharing is above all a matter for their own free will," Chen said.

In the promotion brochure distributed to drivers in the two selected areas, there is a "special section" warning drivers to choose their partners with caution and suggesting it was better to have a written agreement.

Insurance is another problem that has to be worked out. In China, there is no insurance for carpooling. "Whether it is time yet to initiate such an insurance, we need to wait and see the final results of the pilot program in the two selected areas," Chen said.

Hangzhou


 

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