Beijing ponders a rush hour tax
By Dong Zhen and Zhang Xuanchen |
December 14, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BEIJING is seeking views on a package of traffic measures that includes road tolls during rush hours.
The capital is aiming to counter traffic congestion by streamlining its parking rate system, building more parking lots in central urban areas and introducing measures such as limits on car purchases and car pooling.
These measures also include controlling the number of vehicles which don't have Beijing plates, a continuation of the practice of keeping vehicles off the road on certain days according to their plate numbers and a tax on drivers using certain roads during peak periods.
Currently, at certain times determined by the traffic authorities, vehicles with odd and even-numbered plates travel on alternate days. The practice was implemented during the 2008 Olympics and proved successful in easing congestion, Beijing authorities said.
Under the new plans, Beijing might also charge drivers a "rush hour fee" when using some downtown roads to reduce the number of cars entering the area.
A rush hour tax has been the subject of feasibility studies in Shanghai for some years but, so far, there has been no word as to whether it will be introduced.
Urban planning experts in Shanghai say that the system is "technically feasible" and will be effective in reducing congestion in the city. But the Shanghai government has not commented on whether such a measure will be implemented any time soon.
The Beijing government did not release any further details about the road tax charge or the districts it will cover.
The capital is also considering altering the parking rate system to encourage drivers to use suburban, off-street areas and underground garages instead of parking on the street. Parking closer to the center of the city would be more expensive.
The Beijing authorities aim to have more than half of its residents rely on public transport for daily commuting by 2015 by continuing to upgrade its Metro system and bus and bike facilities.
As of December 5, the number of cars in Beijing had increased by 700,000 from the 4.011 million recorded at the end of 2009, according to the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau. The city is expected to have 7 million cars on the roads by 2012.
Guo Jifu, a director of the Beijing Transportation Development and Research Center, said: "We need to use cars and control the increase of them in a scientific and reasonable way with so many people and such limited resources in our country."
Residents in the capital city have until Sunday to make their views known.
The capital is aiming to counter traffic congestion by streamlining its parking rate system, building more parking lots in central urban areas and introducing measures such as limits on car purchases and car pooling.
These measures also include controlling the number of vehicles which don't have Beijing plates, a continuation of the practice of keeping vehicles off the road on certain days according to their plate numbers and a tax on drivers using certain roads during peak periods.
Currently, at certain times determined by the traffic authorities, vehicles with odd and even-numbered plates travel on alternate days. The practice was implemented during the 2008 Olympics and proved successful in easing congestion, Beijing authorities said.
Under the new plans, Beijing might also charge drivers a "rush hour fee" when using some downtown roads to reduce the number of cars entering the area.
A rush hour tax has been the subject of feasibility studies in Shanghai for some years but, so far, there has been no word as to whether it will be introduced.
Urban planning experts in Shanghai say that the system is "technically feasible" and will be effective in reducing congestion in the city. But the Shanghai government has not commented on whether such a measure will be implemented any time soon.
The Beijing government did not release any further details about the road tax charge or the districts it will cover.
The capital is also considering altering the parking rate system to encourage drivers to use suburban, off-street areas and underground garages instead of parking on the street. Parking closer to the center of the city would be more expensive.
The Beijing authorities aim to have more than half of its residents rely on public transport for daily commuting by 2015 by continuing to upgrade its Metro system and bus and bike facilities.
As of December 5, the number of cars in Beijing had increased by 700,000 from the 4.011 million recorded at the end of 2009, according to the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau. The city is expected to have 7 million cars on the roads by 2012.
Guo Jifu, a director of the Beijing Transportation Development and Research Center, said: "We need to use cars and control the increase of them in a scientific and reasonable way with so many people and such limited resources in our country."
Residents in the capital city have until Sunday to make their views known.
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