Ease traffic jams the scientific way

Beijing recently decided to impose flexible working hours to ease traffic jams. The main cause of traffic jams in cities is the huge number of vehicles on roads during rush hours.

Many experts have suggested that only a well-planned and developed mass transport system can solve the problem. But the dilemma is that the auto sector is fast becoming a pillar industry for many big cities. Beijing, for example, is a manufacturing base of joint venture auto firms, including Hyundai, Benz, Shanghai VW and GM, Guangzhou Honda and Toyota, and the majority of car buyers are private owners.

Traffic jams in cities mostly occur in downtown areas during rush hours, with most of the stranded cars being occupied by just one or two persons. That's a huge waste of valuable resources.

People can be dissuaded from buying cars only if driving costs are increased, especially in downtown areas. Big cities such as London levy traffic congestion charges in downtown areas to prompt more people to use public transport. We can follow that example, and use the money thus collected to develop our mass transport system.

But the congestion fee policy should be scientific and rational. For example, cars with fewer passengers should be charged more and those with more people, less. Likewise, environmentally friendly cars should pay less and gas guzzlers, more.

Besides, large parking zones for private cars should be built near subway terminals to encourage people to park their cars there and take a train ride to downtown areas.

Market economy emphasizes the balance point to make marginal profits. To ease traffic jams, city policymakers should impose more market measures to reach the balancing point and help social and environmental causes.

Tony Cai

via email

Don't let Rio Tinto blackmail China

Comment on the article, "China has an edge in iron ore price talks" (China Daily website)

The depressed steel and iron ore market is a classic case where buyers dictate prices. Prices could fall by another 20 percent in the near future, and before reaching equilibrium, they should go down by another 40 to 45 percent. That would be closer to prices in 2008, when they jumped by more than 80 percent.

Vale, BHP Billiton and Rio are going against the law of demand and supply in their bid to control the market. But the market is always self-fulfilling, and prices will quickly slid downward to balance real demand and supply.

Chinese importers have themselves to blame for creating an artificial high market demand by stocking 70 million tons of the metals, causing the bargaining chips to weaken.

To counteract high prices, the China Iron and Steel Association should change its strategy to spot prices that are determined by real demand and supply market forces.

The world has enough supply of iron ore, and China should not allow itself to be blackmailed by Rio, BHP and Vale into paying higher prices.

James Simch

On China Daily website

Readers' comments are welcome. Please send mail to Letters to the Editor, China Daily, 15 Huixin Dongjie, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100029 China. Send faxes to (86-10) 6491-8377. Send e-mail to opinion@chinadaily.com.cn or letters@chinadaily.com.cn or to the individual columnists. China Daily reserves the right to edit all letters. Thank you.

(China Daily 06/09/2009 page9)