Cities like Shanghai and Beijing must show stronger resolve to
curb the number of cars on the road before their traffic jams and
air quality deteriorate further.
For Shanghai, it will be an especially tough battle considering
the city's 13-year-old car license auction system has often been
questioned, protested and even called "illegal" by relevant
authorities.
The city has not backed down. Municipal government spokeswoman
Jiao Yang has said the city has so far no plans to abolish the
auction system. Other government officials have also cited the
system as an effective way to prevent local traffic from being
paralyzed by excessive cars.
Considering Shanghai is the only Chinese city to practice such
an auction system, the pressure must be very high.
Fortunately Shanghai received a major shot in the arm recently
when former UN Under Secretary General Klaus Toepfer, once head of
the UN Environment Program, praised the city's license plate
auction system as "an effective management measure" at a recent
meeting in Shanghai.
Those words from someone with such an international stature are
a huge and timely encouragement for those who have supported the
system throughout the years.
For many Shanghainese, the need to limit the number of cars on
the road is simply out of necessity. It has become more so every
year.
Those who want to call off the auction system are simply
ignoring the dire reality in Shanghai or are motivated by a special
business interest.
While traffic jams used to occur only on weekdays and during
rush hour, they now occur on weekends as well. "Rush hour" has
turned into several "rush hours".
These developments have taken place in just a few years, all
while the auction system was still in place. Each month, only about
5,000 to 7,000 license plates are auctioned, with prices hitting a
record 50,000 yuan (US$6600) last month.
Traffic congestion has already become nightmarish in Shanghai.
People - both those driving cars and those taking buses - are
moving slower as more cars hit local streets.
Car owners, who pretend to be innocent in this issue, should
feel responsible for contributing to this traffic mess - a mess
that constitutes an infringement on other people's rights to smooth
traffic.
Air pollution is equally disastrous. If you walk in any part of
the city center, you smell car exhaust.
Lung cancer has become one of the top killers for local
residents. More people are suffering from respiratory illnesses.
The blood-lead levels of many young children have reached unhealthy
heights, harming their mental capabilities.
So what is really troubling to many in Shanghai -- ordinary
residents and government officials alike -- is not the auction
system, but why, even with such a system, traffic woes still haunt,
more so every passing day.
The auction system is obviously not a silver bullet.
Many local buyers have chosen to register their cars in
neighboring cities, which charge only a fraction for a license
plate compared to Shanghai's hefty 50,000 yuan.
It is estimated that more than 100,000 local residents have
registered their cars in other cities. The real figure, some
believe, is hard to track.
Car dealers, who are understandably opposed to any car control
measures, have been offering one-stop service for those who want to
register out of town.
These clients usually buy cheap cars. Spending 50,000 yuan for a
license plate, close to their car's price tag, is crazy to
them.
In fact, decision makers and traffic control experts in Shanghai
have all realized these problems and have never stopped working on
new plans.
For the last six years, a group of local experts have been
studying various options.
Apart from building more roads and a mass public transit system,
key to the plan is the introducing congestion charges in a
designated zone in the city center, just like London and
Singapore.
Sun Lijun, an urban traffic expert and professor at Tongji
University, is an active member of the study.
According to Sun, the plan is now in its third phase of study.
The second and third phases are both about fine-tuning the
technical aspects.
Sun firmly believes that if Shanghai carries out such a plan
now, it will have done more due diligence than London Mayor Ken
Livingstone, who introduced congestion charges in 2003 under great
pressure and criticism. But it turned out to be a great
success.
It is so successful that New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
wants to follow suit.
It is often true that the introduction of any new policy, which
threatens to change the status quo, will meet opposition.
That has been proven in the country's reform and opening-up over
the last 29 years.
The dismal reality of Shanghai's clogged traffic, fume-rich air
and the high blood lead level among young children is compelling.
It tells us to act soon and act now.
The auction system intends to curb the demand for cars, while
the congestion charge is aimed at reducing the use of cars.
The congestion charge and auction system working side by side
will be a more forceful measure to control the number of cars on
the city's streets.
Beijing has been paying a high price for not taking any of these
actions. Every day, more than 3 million cars cause traffic snarls
and public grievances in the capital.
Again, automakers and other interest groups will not like the
idea of a congestion charge.
This is exactly why big cities like Shanghai and Beijing need to
show special determination to wage a tough battle.
(China Daily November 3, 2007)
