Introduction to Congestion Charging: A Guide for Practitioners in Developing Cities

Abstract

The economic growth of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the past three decades has had some undeniably positive effects on the country’s development. But it has also led to a massive increase in motor vehicle travel and associated traffic problems, especially in large cities. In Beijing, more than five million cars cause severe local air pollution and traffic congestion as well as increasing parking problems and accident costs. In addition, transport GHG emissions have become a key challenge for sustainable development in the PRC and on a global level. Neither roadway expansion nor the development of new car technologies alone can solve these problems; in fact, these strategies often reduce one problem but increase others. Transport Demand Management (TDM) offers sustainable solutions which help achieve multiple planning objectives.

On behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and the Beijing Municipal Commission for Transport (BMCT) the Beijing Transport Research Center (BTRC) and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH) implement the Sino-German project ‘Transport Demand Management in Beijing’. The project aims to build capacities in the Beijing municipal authorities, to quantify and model the impact and benefits of various TDM strategies. In 2013 and 2014, the project supported local partners in Beijing to explore scenarios for introducing congestion charging. This guide reflects lessons learnt from this exercise. The Asian Development Bank through its technical assistance project, Beijing Sustainable Urban Transport Project, supported the Beijing Municipal Government in finding suitable and sustainable solutions to its urban transport problems. Three main types of strategy options were examined: (i) TDM strategies including restricting vehicle ownership and usage, parking pricing, and charging schemes; (ii) infrastructure improvement strategies; and (iii) traffic operation improvement strategies. The congestion charging schemes analysed in the project are reflected in this guide.