Troubling new toll system
(From The Japan Times April 21 issue)

要約
高速料金制度の迷走

The Hatoyama administration April 9 announced a new expressway toll system that will take effect in June. The new system will cap per-day tolls on motorcycles and minicars at ¥1,000, standard-size cars at ¥2,000 and larger vehicles, including trucks and buses, at ¥5,000 or ¥10,000 depending on their size. From July, a ¥1,000 cap will be applied to fuel-efficient standard-size cars.

In tandem with the new tariff, from June the government will abolish tolls in 50 sections on 37 routes — about 18 percent of the nation's expressway network. It will also eliminate many existing discounts, including a ¥1,000 cap on holidays for cars equipped with electronic toll charge (ETC) devices introduced by the previous administration in March 2009. The present system of charging a flat rate based on prefectural zones for the Metropolitan Expressway and the Hanshin Expressway will be replaced with one that costs between ¥500 and ¥900, depending on distance traveled.

The new system of relatively cheap caps could cause many problems. The extension of discounts to all vehicles and the expansion of the discount period from weekends and holidays to every day will likely increase traffic congestion. Accordingly, operators of public transportation systems such as trains, ferries and buses could face financial difficulties.

In terms of cost, drivers of ETC-equipped cars who travel shorter distances — the average distance driven on weekends is just 60 km and on weekdays 40 km — will likely pay more under the new system than they do now. And short-haul trucking firms are likely to pay higher tolls under the new system. The ¥5,000 per-day cap on trucks may also result in a decline in the number of trucks that use long-distance ferry services.

The new expressway toll system enables the administration to tap ¥1.4 trillion for expressway construction out of the ¥3 trillion fund originally set aside for expressway toll discounts. This is an opaque way of funding previously planned expressway construction and is apparently aimed at getting votes in the coming Upper House election. The Democratic Party of Japan has been calling for making expressways toll free, but the Hatoyama administration's expressway policy seems to have little coherence. The administration plans to review the new expressway toll system in 2011. It should scrutinize the results and make changes as necessary to correct any problems the new system creates.

政府は6月導入の高速道路料金制度を発表、曜日を問わず車種別上限制で� £ ﾊ車2千円などと定めた。エコカー対象割引は7月から始まる。

新制度とともに、6月から37路線50区間が無料化、自民党が導入したETC車の休日上限千円という割引も廃止される。定額制になっている首都高速と阪神高速は距離別料金に移行される。

割引制度を全車種に拡大、曜日限定も廃止で、公共交通機関の経営問題が指摘されている。

ETC車やトラックの近距離利用は実質値上げとなる。長距離フェリーを利用していたトラックが陸路を選択する可能性も高まる。

新制度により、高速料金割引のための財源のうち1.4兆円を建設費に回すことができる。道路工事に資金を使うための不透明なやり方で、参院選をにらんだ作戦だ。民主党は高速無料化を掲げたが、新制度は食い違いが多い。来年の制度見直しで結果を精査し問題を解決すべきだ。