Authorities undecided on car passes

• Source: Global Times
• [16:34 March 03 2010]
• Comments

By Chen Xiaoru

As some neighboring cities around Shanghai have begun to grant special passes to car owners without criminal records who want to drive to Shanghai during the Expo, Shanghai traffic authorities claimed Tuesday that they were still ironing out the details.

“We’ll carry out random inspections at the border check points among cars with the pass and close scrutiny for every one without it,” said Wang Jin, a traffic officer in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, where such passes have been accessible for car owners since Monday.

According to Wang, for cars without a pass, drivers must bring with them their ID cards, driver’s licenses and vehicle licenses. “We’ll check the licenses, goods inside the car and even the car itself,” said Wang, adding that the average inspection may take five minutes.

Local authorities revealed that 270 traffic officers would be arranged to carry out the inspection.

“Traffic authorities in Shanghai have been guiding us concerning the pass allowance work,” said Shen Chugeng, deputy director of the Jiaxing Municipal Public Security Bureau, who revealed as early as January that the Expo host itself would begin to grant the passes around mid March.

Similar practices are underway in cities like Lishui in Zhejiang. As the news spread into Shanghai and car owners began to worry about their own convenience, the Shanghai traffic department responded by saying they were still preparing for traffic control policies during the Expo period.

“Do I need to get a pass every time I go into Shanghai?” Pan Feng, a bank clerk in Shanghai who frequently travels to neighboring cities on business, told the Global Times. “It’ll be very inconvenient.”

Money is another concern for some drivers in Shanghai. “How much will they charge for a pass? I don’t know if that’ll be another excuse of the government trying to get money from us,” said Angie Yang, who frequently drives between Shanghai and Hangzhou.

According to Zhejiang traffic authorities, drivers can obtain the passes for free as long as they are qualified.

Many Shanghai drivers, especially those with car plates from other provinces, are still waiting for feedback from the local authorities to answer their questions.