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Far too many toll stations

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-23 07:43

A recent website posting about toll stations thickly dotting Shanxi province reminds us of the urgency to tackle the problem of too many toll roads in China, says an article in Qianjiang Evening Post. The following is an excerpt:

In recent days, a website posting about the toll stations in Shanxi province has been quite popular.

In fact, Shanxi is not alone in having such an intensive network of toll stations, but it is common in the whole country. As I drove back from a several thousand kilometers journey, toll charges reached more than 3,000 yuan. If the gas fees were factored in, the cost of every liter of gas jumped to more than 12 yuan while the gas per liter is only around 6 yuan.

In a nutshell, it is a clear example of departmental interests hijacking the public interest. Actually, few countries in the world have the same passion for setting up toll stations as China.

At the annual NPC or CPPCC sessions, the expensive toll fees have been a target of criticism by deputies and members .

In an extreme case three toll stations are set up within 50 km of a road. Some expressways have continued to collect fees although the fees already collected are enough to pay back debts.

In fact, the regulation on toll roads released by the State Council in 2004 stipulates that the development of roads should insist that toll-free roads are the mainstream. The pity is that this stipulation has not been implemented effectively.

We should use legal means to put the network of toll roads under the supervision of the public, forcing every toll road manager to make public the construction costs and debt details.

(China Daily 10/23/2008 page9)