A Research On Charging Mode Of Foreign Urban Road Congestion And Implication To Beijing

Traffic congestion is one of the major issues facing the large-and-medium-sized cities worldwide. Currently, traffic administrators for these cities have been seeking solutions to effectively mitigate road congestion in the central business districts and core function districts of big cities. Such road congestion is also seen in Beijing. Beijing Municipality has taken many traffic control measures in order to tackle the increasing traffic jams from supply and demand ends. However, none of these measures have proved to be effective, and traffic congestion remains a problem. In the light of the success cases of congestion toll collection in foreign cities, the article looks into the developing status of local cities and proposes suitable toll collection systems for urban road congestion, with the hope to serve as a the reference for demand control in domestic road transportation.The article first brings out the relevant topics of urban road congestion and congestion toll collection,including the causes for urban road congestion, the definition and measurements of congestion, the connotation and categorization of congestion toll collection, the pricing models, the principals for toll collection, and the implications of toll collection on the behaviors of drivers. Secondly, it sheds light on the congestion toll collection modes in some foreign cities and the effects they bring about. Meanwhile, it compares regional licensing, electronic toll collection and the congestion toll scheme in London from the aspects of toll collection mode and efficiency, with the conclusions that1) electronic toll collection has a advantage in efficiency,2) regional licensing is obviously disadvantaged due to its manual operation, and3) London’s congestion toll scheme is more suitable for the nations or districts that need to implement congestion toll collection in a relatively large area. Thirdly, a toll collection system must have clear definitions of toll area, targeted payer, toll period, criteria and method, penalty regulations and preferential policies, and the reference of foreign cases shall be taken only with a realistic understanding of local conditions, not with a simple-minded imitation. In the end, the article emphasizes on the necessity of implementing congestion toll collection in Beijing and investigates feasible plans for Beijing in the light of the local conditions and the success cases overseas.The article refers to the relevant theories of urban road congestion and discusses about the theoretical basis of urban road congestion toll collection. By summarizing and comparing the success modes of congestion toll collection in some foreign cities, it proposes a congestion toll scheme for Beijing in light of the local transportation developments, with the definitions of toll area and period, targeted payer and toll method, and discusses the method for defining toll criteria, with the hope to serve as a reference for setting up congestion toll collection systems in Beijing.