Toll concession meaningless to many

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-11-13 11:28

Motorists driving between Beijing Capital International Airport and downtown have only needed to pay toll in one direction since Oct 1.

But this concession is conditional and can be quite inconvenient to people.

Firstly, motorists who go directly to terminal three on the second airport expressway will not benefit.

I've been told that terminal two and terminal three belong to different companies with different toll prices. If one wants to save the money while driving to terminal three, they must go through the Tianzhu station, the main toll gate on the first airport expressway, and use the road that connects both expressways. Isn't this a big waste of time and too much trouble for motorists?

Besides, other toll gates on the first airport expressway don't offer the concession, which is obviously unfair to motorists who use only a part of the expressway.

Secondly, the concession is meaningless to many who live around the airport and work in downtown areas.

That's because vehicles heading into Beijing can pass the manual toll collection lane of the Tianzhu toll station for free one time with a complete expressway toll receipt received while leaving Beijing on the same day.

However, for people who leave for the city in the morning and return at night, they may need to pay both ways, as they cannot use the toll receipts received the night before.

I wonder if such a policy is a real concession to improve people's livelihood, or just a handout?

Zhang Changbo

(The comment first appeared in Beijing News on Nov 11.)