In yet another move to alleviate traffic congestion, city officials are considering a new road toll for car drivers in the downtown area.
Beyond transforming major streets into one-ways, blaming skyscrapers for traffic jams and building elevated roadways across the city – which, by the way, actually create more traffic – a proposed plan from the municipal Department of Transport could impose road tolls on drivers of four-wheeled vehicles who venture into the city center, reports Tuoi Tre.
Transportation officials are currently discussing the scheme with Saigon-based Innovative Technology Development Corporation (iTD), who could provide the technology to implement the road toll plan.
If it goes into effect, the scheme would be operated under a public-private partnership, with iTD providing the technology for the project.
According to Ngo Hai Duong, head of the Road Infrastructure Management and Exploitation Division of the Transport Department, city officials are still mulling a number of factors related to the possible scheme, including the borders of the downtown zone where the toll would go into effect as well as the exact amount to be charged.
Duong also told Tuoi Tre the toll, which would be roughly VND40,000-60,000 per car, would only be charged during rush hour as a deterrent to car drivers and would not apply to city buses or public service vehicles.
If you’re concerned about toll booths going up around the downtown area, fear not: authorities are working with iTD to create a device which will be installed on every vehicle. Whenever a car crosses into the downtown toll zone, the device will deduct the fee from the driver’s bank account. Saigon officials do, however, plan to install electric signboards informing drivers of the toll and its boundaries.
The plan to implement a downtown road toll is not actually new; a similar plan was originally proposed in 2012 but received so much negative feedback that the scheme never came to light. Now, however, at least some Saigoneers seem to be coming around: the plan has received mixed reviews this time around, with some in favor of the scheme and others opposed. For their part, some taxi drivers have expressed concern about the scheme decreasing the number of taxis in the downtown area.
[Photo via Tin Tay Nguyen]
