Expressway operators face crackdown on exorbitant tolls
Five ministries have launched a joint crackdown on exorbitant highway tolls on the mainland after state media accused operators of earning staggering profits and adding to inflation by pushing up transport costs.
A notice issued yesterday by the ministries of transport, finance and supervision, the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Council Office for Rectifying Malpractice told regional authorities to cut the number of toll gates and unreasonable fees, including those charged by operators who had already repaid construction loans.
In Guangdong, the crackdown will have four phases: investigation, rectification by the end of December, re-examination, and improvement by the end of May.
Mainland authorities have launched various campaigns to reduce highway tolls since 2004 - including the introduction of a fuel tax from January 2009 to replace statutory road maintenance fees for every vehicle - but few have succeeded.
Many expressway companies are jointly owned by regional authorities, which have resisted Beijing's crackdowns as they consider the tolls to be an important revenue source.
The overcharging of highway tolls rakes in billions of yuan across the mainland each year. In many provinces where construction costs were footed by local governments, partially through bank loans, the authorities continue to charge drivers after the toll contract expires.