The Guangzhou city government could raise parking fees this year and consider congestion fees and restrictions on vehicles from outside the city during rush hours, domestic media reported yesterday.
A draft of the 30 new measures to curb downtown traffic in the post-Asian Games period was released at the weekend. The city ruled out restricting new license plates, a policy Beijing had adopted, a China Daily report said.
Guangzhou has 2.15 million vehicles, including 1.61 million cars. The number of private cars had increased 22 percent annually over the past five years, a rate exceeding Beijing s and Shanghai s. About 300,000 new vehicles were registered last year.
The average traffic speed on the city s 60 main roads in September 2010 remained slower than 20 kilometers an hour during evening rush hour. Authorities expected 60 percent of the main roads to be choked by 2013 if no measures were taken.
The authorities will also consider imposing restrictions on major roads during peak hours based on whether the final digit of a vehicle s license plate is even or odd, Xian Weixiong, director of Guangzhou s commission of transport, was quoted as saying.
