Something has to be done about the traffic situtation in Beijing and the idea of raising parking fees seems at first glance to be a good start. But the increase is only from 2 RMB to 5 RMB per hour which begs the question: That’s it? This means you can drive your US$80,000 BMW downtown and park all day for about 40 RMB (US$4.50). WTF? If the Beijing city government was serious about controlling parking they’d increase the fees up a bit more. How about 100 RMB per hour? If the guy with the man purse can’t park his Audi on the sidewalk for an extra hour while he takes his 3-erguotou and 2-xiaojie lunch break then boo hoo.
According to China Daily over 1000 vehicles are added to Beijing streets EVERY DAY. I’m not even sure 100 RMB parking is going to stop anything. Let’s get those parking attendants who work Fenway out here, I’m talking about jacking prices to “Yankees are in town on the same day as Boston University freshmen move-in and this is the last spot” kind of rates.*
Beijing is rapidly turning into a car town, but it’s not built for cars. Sidewalks are used as parking lots, alleyways are onramps, and the “expressways” crawl along no matter what time of day or night. Okay, I’m done.
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*True story: My dad went into Boston for a game and arrived a bit late. No parking anywhere. Finally he went to the $40 lot. They were full too but the attendant moved his car (parked at a meter) and let my dad park in that spot for $40+meter fee. The things we do when the Yankees are in town…
The reason (or one of them) why the government can’t restrict traffic by raising parking fees through the roof is that labour is so negligibly expensive here. It’s only going to cost 30 or 40 RMB per day to hire a full-time driver, and have him take your car home again while you’re at the office. Or (more likely, since fuel is not really that dear either), have him drive round and round the Ringroads until he’s needed again (a technique of course pioneered by ambulances a few years ago, to try to keep the SARS patients away from the inquisitive gaze of the WHO).
That’s it–I’m getting a man purse, white socks, and my own driver.
If you can’t beat him…
Seriously, why don’t they just limit car registrations…oh right, because if people can’t feel like their standard of living is noticeably improving and if they can’t show off their new wealth, they’re gonna have to blame somebody…
They limit the number of new registrations released each month in Shanghai – it results in an auction system for new plates which adds 30-35k RMB to the price of a new car. It doesn’t seem to have caused any public outcry, and it has kept the growth in private cars well behind Beijing and the rest of China.
There’s a simmering spat between the central government and the Shanghai government over this. Basically, national policy is that, because the motor industry is the fastest growth point in the manufacturing sector, it is to be encouraged at all costs, as a “pillar industry” that will help to promote growth throughout the whole economy.
Shanghai has therefore been told, “restricting car sales is illegal”; and Shanghai has replied, “eat my shorts”. Hilarious. This one will run and run.
I’m not sure how good an economy is if you can’t see anything because of the smog or get anywhere because of the traffic even if you could see anything.