Talk of a possible plan to ease traffic in Hangzhou by levying a
congestion charge on cars entering the city's center has caused a
stir among car-owners.
Heavily congested cities like London and Singapore have
successfully used such fees to cut down on traffic in their
downtown areas.
But reports that traffic management authorities had surveyed
some roads in Hangzhou to determine whether congestion fees were
feasible have garnered much attention, most of it negative, even
though local authorities have yet to reach any conclusions about
the fees.
One car owner, surnamed Liu, from the outskirts of Hangzhou,
expressed dismay at the idea. "I don't think a congestion charge is
necessary for the city at this stage," said the 42-year-old. "One
major problem is that public transportation is not good enough at
the moment. Many people will start taking buses after giving up
their cars because of the fees, but if they have to spend more time
commuting because the transportation system is inadequate then that
is definitely unfair for them."
The bus capacity rate in the city is about 23 seats per 10,000
people, which ranks among the most developed of the country's
cities in terms of capacity.
However, bus services have slowed in the past few years because
of worsening traffic jams. Roughly 70 percent of all buses do not
arrive on time.
Local police have said that Hangzhou's city center had hit its
peak capacity for traffic flow during rush hour. If no effective
measures are taken to improve the situation in the next two years,
congestion could increase to alarming levels.
As of last month, there were 1.18 million cars in the city. Each
day more than 300,000 vehicles flow into the city center. In
addition, local residents buy some 50,000 new cars every year.
Congestion charges are one way of ensuring that people who drive
their cars downtown pay to use valuable road space.
A broadcaster with the Zhejiang Radio Station Traffic Channel,
surnamed Liu, pointed out that the city should be more concerned
about improving the city's roads. "If drivers are discouraged from
driving in the city center during peak times, there should be other
ways to get around. However, this seems impossible given the poor
state of the current road network,” he said.
Liu also pointed out that Hangzhou should not be trying to
emulate London. London, which suffers from the worst traffic
congestion in the United Kingdom, has been charging drivers 8
pounds (US$15) per day to enter the city's center during peak hours
since February 2003. As a result, traffic flows have declined by 16
percent in downtown areas.
Ni Meigen, a manager of a catering company at the Zhejiang
Provincial People's Hospital, urged local authorities to search for
other solutions to the problem. "The increasing congestion could be
the result of poor traffic management and a lack of awareness of
traffic regulations. This is something the government should work
on rather than just focusing on charging people money," she
said.
(China Daily November 28, 2006)