The HCM City government is considering a recommendation by the Department of Transport to levy an entry fee on all private vehicles going to the downtown area, a proposal that has come under fire from experts.
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| A long tail of traffic congestion at Hai Ba Trung Street in HCM City. A proposal to levy an entry fee on all private vehicles going to the downtown area is expected to help reduce traffic congestion. - VNA/VNS Photo Trang Duong |
If accepted, the plan could help reduce traffic congestion in the area, the department said, after a recent proposal to charge a similar fee for motorbikes attracted public disapproval.
Cars with up to seven seats will have to pay VND30,000 to enter between 6AM to 8PM, and trucks, taxis, and other passenger vans except buses, VND50,000.
The city asked the private Innovative Technology Development Corporation (ITD) to study the cost of building 36 toll booths in Districts 1 and 3 and parts of Districts 5 and 10.
It reported that the cost would be around VND1.2 trillion (USD57.6 million).
The department seeks to pilot the project this year or in early 2012.
Lam Thieu Quan, general director of ITD, said every day 110,000 to 150,000 automobiles enter the downtown area, creating congestion during rush hour, and the plan could reduce the number by 40 percent.
The number of motorcycles would increase by 10 per cent and people travelling by buses by 18 percent, he said.
But experts warned that the plan would cause traffic jams in streets near the toll stations.
Nguyen Trong Hoa, head of the HCM City Research and Development Institute said that the city could not imitate foreign countries since their public transport systems were well developed.
Thai Van Chung, secretary of the HCM City Goods Transportation Association, said the poor quality of bus services would dissuade people from switching from private cars to public transport.
In foreign countries, underground car parks were built in suburbs and good public transport allowed them to travel to the city, he said.
Dr Pham Xuan Mai of the HCM City University of Technology concurred, saying that in other countries public transport met 40 – 75 of travelling needs of people and governments could limit private vehicles.
The city\'s first underground route is expected to begin operation in 2015 at the earliest.
