CHINA / Regional |
Beijing's parking fees to be increased(CRIENGLISH.com)Updated: 2007-07-09 14:39 Prices for 19,000 parking spaces in Beijing are going to be increased this year, said an official from the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform. Beijing Morning Post reported that the department is planning to pursue reforms in the parking pricing system. This move is aimed at easing the unbalanced relationship between supply and demand in parking, regulating its pricing and curbing traffic congestion in the city. Currently, the number of Beijing's parking spaces only reaches 940,000. Another 400,000 parking spaces are urgently needed. Increasing the spaces is obviously no mean feat, though raising the parking fee represents an effective way to control traffic volume and encourage the public to take more public transport. According to the upcoming reform, the existing busy areas, including the CBD and Zhongguancun, will be expanded and areas such as Xidan and Cuiwei, which always suffer traffic jams, will be considered as "new busy areas". Therefore, the parking fee in these areas will be raised. In addition, the fees for cars parking on the roads in busy areas will be higher than for those cars parked away from the road. The governmental bodies will also improve the public transport service and
relieve the parking fee in the transport exchange hubs, so as to decrease the
number of cars going into the downtown area, promoting the utilization of public
transport. |
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