What Is a Congestion Charge?

Traffic congestion fee refers to charging a certain amount of fees to road users in some areas during traffic congestion periods. It is essentially an economic means of traffic demand management. The purpose is to use the price mechanism to limit the density of traffic on urban roads during peak periods to The purpose of alleviating urban traffic congestion and improving the operational efficiency of the entire urban traffic.

Traffic congestion fee

The traffic congestion fee refers to the charging of certain fees to road users in some areas during congested periods, which is essentially a kind of

In order to further alleviate traffic congestion in Beijing and facilitate the travel of the general public, Beijing governs

Cities with the same willingness to collect congestion fees as Guangzhou, and

Charge "

In foreign countries, some adopt an electronic highway toll system, which mainly targets vehicles entering the central urban area. Different tolls and time zones have different tolls; others determine whether tolls are based on the transit time and the number of passengers.

1. At the end of 1996, the South Korean capital imposed a "traffic congestion fee", which reduced car traffic by 9%, among which cars decreased by 53%, and the speed of traffic doubled. In addition, cities such as the Portuguese capital Lisbon, the United Kingdom and London, and Singapore and other countries have alleviated traffic tensions through the collection of congestion fees. The "congestion fees" proved to be feasible in practice, why have they repeatedly and repeatedly encountered public opposition in China?
2. An undeniable fact is that as China enters the automobile society, charging "congestion fees" touches the interests of the huge car owners, and the opposition is bound to be high. Many car owners do not realize that they have to pay a certain cost to occupy limited public resources. They do not realize that traffic congestion not only reduces the efficiency of personal affairs, but also reduces the efficiency of public affairs. Therefore, the "congestion fee" will have an intuitive rejection.

The citizens of Guangzhou feel some dissatisfaction with the way that Guangzhou charges vehicles that enter the city's busiest and most congested areas during heavy traffic periods.

Citizen: "The fees are too much, everyone, if you can be less, you can be less!"

Citizen: "Congestion fees, I heard that this seems to have happened before in foreign countries, Britain. I think the government should still manage the traffic, don't always think about charging."

Citizen: "Since the government that buys a car collects taxes, it must ensure the smooth flow of the road. It cannot be combined with consumers. How can the government not control the purchase of a car? People who have bought a car have paid the tax and should enjoy driving. Right. It is unreasonable to set up a fee midway. When buying a car, why do nt you say that you have to charge it? If you have this rule, you do nt buy a car. People also buy a car to promote consumption and promote the economy Development, do it again, wouldn't the buyer of the car increase the expenditure again? "

In early 2016, a media survey of 2,000 people through a questionnaire network showed that although 53.0% of the respondents supported the collection of congestion fees, 68.0% of the respondents considered that the collection of congestion fees was a palliative and not a cure. . If a congestion fee is levied, 47.3% of the respondents said they would reduce driving and use public transportation. 65.1% of the respondents said that if a congestion fee is levied, the specific cost for congestion control should also be announced.

Among the respondents, 67.4% owned the car and 32.6% owned the car. 39.6% were from Beishang, Guangshen, 33.5% from provincial capitals, 19.3% from prefecture-level cities, 5.3% from counties, and 2.4% from townships.

Levy of congestion fees, 53.0% of respondents support, 30.6% of respondents oppose

The survey shows that 53.0% of the respondents support the collection of congestion fees and ease the traffic pressure. Very supportive and more supportive respondents account for 18.6% and 34.4% respectively; 30.6% of the respondents do not support, do not support and expressly oppose Of the respondents accounted for 19.5% and 11.2% respectively; 16.4% of the respondents said that it didn't matter. ^[1]

Opinion one :

Traffic congestion fee refers to charging certain road users during certain periods of traffic congestion. It is essentially an economic means of traffic demand management. London, UK, collects traffic congestion toll signs. The purpose is to use the price mechanism to limit urban roads. Peak

Traffic congestion fees actually let car owners pay for the government's mistakes and allow the government to benefit from their mistakes. A basic market rule and rule of law principle is that no one can benefit from their own mistakes, and those who make mistakes must pay a price. If a person makes mistakes, not only will he not be punished, but he will also benefit from the mistakes. Wrong. Under normal circumstances, those who make mistakes will be punished. However, because the government has the right to make decisions and punishment, it is both a referee and an athlete. In many cases, the government has improper mistakes but let others pay the bill, Privileges, such as this traffic congestion fee, are typical of "benefiting from mistakes": blocking the city before charging. ^[2]

Beijing is expected to levy a congestion fee for low-emission zones in 2015. This is the first city in China to expressly levy this fee. Congestion charges in Beijing have also been questioned. Some netizens said: It s completely lazy to think about restricting and depriving people of their freedom of travel; I just want to ask if the congestion fee is charged to ensure that it will not be blocked. If so, agree with both hands, if not, then charge What is the purpose?

Beijing Transportation Industry Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction Center said that the congestion fee is a fee charged for the social costs caused by congestion. It is not charged for traffic jams, but specific areas are still being studied. Specific standards for sewage congestion fees are also being studied.

Will a congestion charge improve traffic?

After the congestion toll was levied in Milan in 2012, traffic flow fell by 30%. At the same time, pollutants from transportation have also fallen by 30%.

Since the congestion charge was levied in London, the amount of traffic entering the toll zone has been reduced by 25%. The number of cars entering the toll zone each day has decreased by 70,000, and 50% to 60% of the public has turned to public transport. Levying congestion fees directly reduces traffic emissions in the region, reducing annual nitrogen oxide emissions by 8%, PM10 emissions by 7%, and carbon dioxide emissions by 16%.

Of course, levying congestion fees is not a surefire way. The situation in Hong Kong and other places is crowded but not blocked. The important factors are that the roads in cities such as Hong Kong are reasonably designed and well regulated. Therefore, it is not difficult to see that the rational design of roads and the rational layout of urban functions are also important aspects to improve the congestion situation.

Since 2002, a few cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have also tried to emulate the collection of traffic congestion fees, which has caused some controversy and ended in nothing. Some netizens believe that urban traffic managers are focusing on the use of measures such as traffic restrictions, peak shifts, and congestion fees instead of focusing on improving public travel, which is an unfair treatment of private car owners.

In September 2011, the Guiding Opinions on the In-depth Implementation of Smooth Traffic Management Projects in Urban Roads jointly issued by the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Housing and Construction, and the Ministry of Transport clearly stated that it is required to carry out trials in some regions, road sections and time in large cities Research on the policy of levying traffic congestion fees, rationally adjusting the cost of car travel, and guiding citizens to reduce the frequency of private car use.

In February 2012, Su Hui, chairman of the China Automotive Distribution Association's visible market branch, revealed at the Xinhuaxin Automotive Market Seminar that in order to effectively manage traffic congestion, some large cities in China are likely to formulate a traffic congestion fee policy in 2012. ^[3]

1. At the macro level, there are many problems with the positioning of urban functions and the functional positioning of various regions of the city, which can also cause congestion. Take Beijing as an example. Beijing used to be the political and cultural center of China. This positioning itself brings many social and public resources together in Beijing. And Beijing also announced that it is necessary to build a financial center city with international influence. The Chinese IT center of "Zhongguancun" is also in Beijing. In addition, various resources such as medical education are concentrated in Beijing. A large number of people gather in Beijing. It is no wonder that there is no congestion .

2, Beijing's districts and counties are carefully positioned, and they are quite messy and cross each other. It can be said that the positioning of urban functions has also had a huge impact on traffic congestion, and netizens naturally have to oppose the "control of traffic congestion".
3. When the congestion fee is understood as a means of increasing government revenue, when the congestion control cannot catch the bull nose, and when the congestion control focuses only on the field of transportation, the opposition to the congestion fee becomes A collective attitude of the public.