Drivers in spin over Beijing congestion charge
Rong Jun, a delegate with Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, told China News Services on Tuesday that the government was considering the charge as part of a plan to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality in the city.
A Beijing city government proposal to impose a traffic congestion charge has met fierce resistance from drivers.
Rong Jun, a delegate with Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, told China News Services on Tuesday that the government was considering the charge as part of a plan to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality in the city.
In recent years, the government has restricted sales of cars, raised parking fees in the city centre and banned non-local vehicles from the city, but the traffic has only got worse
The success of congestion charging zones in London and Singapore had inspired Beijing, he said. London, for instance, saw its downtown traffic speed triple to 30km/h after it introduced its congestion charge. Drivers pay £10 (HK$122) a day to drive in the city centre between 7am and 6pm on weekdays.
Beijing's traffic authorities believed the measure would also provide some relief to Beijing's notoriously clogged roads, where peak hour traffic has dropped to 20km/h in recent months.
But news of the charge was roundly condemned by drivers. Opinions posted on weibo accounts were almost one-sidedly negative, with some accusing the government of being "lazy", "brutal" and "greedy".
Nie Sheng, a resident of Daxing who drives to work in Haidian, said a congestion charge would not solve Beijing's traffic jams, judging by past experience.
"In recent years, the government has restricted sales of cars, raised parking fees in the city centre and banned non-local vehicles from the city, but the traffic has only got worse," he said.