Congestion charge in capital unlikely to cut car use much

The Fourth Ring Road in Beijing in a morning rush hour. City authorities are working on solutions to ease the pressures on traffic in the city. [Photo/China Daily]

The beijing authorities have reportedly already made initial plans to collect a congestion charge in Beijing, and they might start collecting the fee this year. A congestion charge won't ease the traffic, says a comment on cb.com.cn:

The authorities claim that many metropolises, such as London and Singapore, have been collecting a congestion charge for years and they can copy the successful example of these cities. But the situation is totally different in Beijing.

In cities such as London, the middle class accounts for a high percentage of the whole population, and the majority of the cars running on the roads are privately owned. That's why charging a congestion fee is effective.

However, in Beijing, government departments and State-owned enterprises own too many cars that are run on taxpayers' money and it is these that are a major cause of traffic jams in the city. They do not care anything about the congestion fee because they will pay with taxpayers' money, which will bring an additional economic burden to taxpayers without easing the road congestion.

More importantly, the income gap in Beijing is wider and many car owners are rich people. Congestion fees will have little impact on their behavior as they will still drive even after the government introduces the charge.

Another problem with the congestion fee is, if it does discourage some people from driving it will make the subways and buses more crowded. People are already complaining that the subways are overcrowded.

The officials that want to collect a congestion fee did not mention a single word about improving public transport. On the contrary, they raised subway and bus tickets prices at the end of 2014 to cut State subsidiary.

It is unfair for certain officials to copy half of the overseas example according to their interests only. If they insist on introducing a congestion fee, they should ask the public first instead of making decisions behind closed doors.