Private car ban an emergency option for Expo traffic
- Source: Global Times
- [15:42 February 22 2010]
- Comments
By Ni Dandan
Shanghai traffic authorities said Saturday they would consider a ban for all private cars from the roads for the 2010 World Expo in extreme congestion conditions as a "reserve plan".
The news comes as a relief to many who worried that Shanghai would adopt the same stringent measures Beijing enacted during the 2008 Olympic Games. Local authorities decided to make the severe measure an emergency plan rather than policy considering the fact that Shanghai has half the number of private cars, humbled under Beijing’s 3 million
"The Expo will be, anyhow, half-a-year long," said Li Yi, who purchased his very first car in December. "It's unfair if my car is banned from roads for as long as 3 months."
In another effort to ease traffic during the Expo, the Shanghai Urban Construction and Transportation Commission said five park-and-go lots would be completed by March. Near the Formula One Circuit in Jiading District, the Hongqiao Integrated Transport Hub and some areas in Songjiang will charge 5 to 10 yuan ($0.73 to 1.47) a day, while parking lots downtown charge 5 to 10 yuan an hour.
The planned area will provide cheap parking for 11,566 cars.
"We set a low price because we want to encourage more drivers who live in suburban areas to take shuttle buses or the subway to Expo sites in downtown areas," said Huang Rong, director of the Commission.
