Supervision of highway tolls
Updated: 2007-08-01 07:03
Management of highway tolls should be further strengthened says a commentary in Beijing News. The following is an excerpt.
Beijing's municipal legislators recently passed a new regulation on roads to take effect on October 1. It states that highway charges should end after its duration expires. This notice should be made public and on time by the municipal government.
The charging problems of toll roads have long existed. Not long ago, Li Jinhua, the auditor-general, said serious problems had been discovered in the construction, operation and management of toll roads in the course of auditing.
The collected toll fees of some roads were several times their investment costs. And the transfer of operating rights of some toll roads were not according to the regulations, leading to a loss of State-owned assets.
The new regulation states that "toll facilities should be removed as required and toll fees should end after expiry of its duration". This is welcome as it puts an end to overcharging, but good intentions must have a good enforcement mechanism.
Take the expiration for example. We do not know when it will expire, who will set the duration time, will it be for 10 years or more?
The regulations do not address these issues. No one, including legislators, has been given the right to inspect budgeting of the tolls. The road administrators are not allowed to divulge information concerning charges, loans, road conditions, traffic, maintenance and management because this is considered a "business secret".
"Business secret" denies the public the right to know. And without this right it is impossible to check if some toll fees are too high.
(China Daily 08/01/2007 page10)
China Daily PDF Edition