Shanghai to stop levying road maintenance fees

Shanghai, November 28 (Gasgoo.com) Shanghai's civil engineering department announced yesterday that it will temporarily stop levying the road maintenance fees for the coming new year from car owners while awaiting the related new policy from the state regulator, said local media.

As a usual practice, Shanghai would start on December 1 to collect the next year's road maintenance fees. But these weeks, the Chinese government is seeking public opinion about the possible fuel pricing and fuel tax reforms, and is considering using the fuel tax to replace road tolls and maintenance fees. The new policy has not been finalized yet and the transportation authorities will issue their accordingly revised standards later.

Some car owners in Shanghai have paid their road maintenance fees for 2009 in advance. The municipal department said that there is no need to worry about it because the money would return to the car owners if fees of that kind are scrapped. They will be notified of the specific details when the new policy and standards are issued.

The introduction of a fuel tax in China was first proposed in 1994 but has been delayed amid concerns that it would impose too great a burden on those who consumed more oil. The government has instead collected road maintenance fees from auto users regardless of how much gasoline or diesel oil they use, but now has to reform this in response to strong public demands. 

The road tolls and maintenance fees have been considered great financial burdens by China's car owners and drivers. Recently several Chinese cities have seen strikes and protests by taxi drivers, mainly ignited by their prohibitive operational costs, including the high fuel price and numerous fees they have to pay for using the roads or highways.