Beijing authorities are to raise downtown parking fees by 150 percent to discourage motorists from driving into the congested city center.

Motorists will have to pay five yuan (US0.6) per hour instead of two yuan (US$0.25) for parking close to downtown commercial areas, said a source with the Beijing Municipal Reform and Development Committee.

He said the price hike would be adopted this year, though authorities were yet to work out the exact timetable.

But the rise would not apply to parking in the outer areas or residential areas where the motorists paid 150 yuan (US$19) a month to secure a parking space, he said.

Most of Beijing's underground parks charge five yuan per hour, but a roadside parking space costs only two yuan. As a result, few people drive directly into an underground park and cars lining up for roadside parks often add to congestion on downtown roads.

In an effort to divert traffic from the city center, the authorities are planning to build more and cheaper parks in some outer regions where motorists can switch to the subway for the second leg of their trip to work. The cheapest of these parks should hopefully cost just two yuan for a whole day, the government said earlier.

Urban road transport has reached a crisis point in Beijing, with 90 percent of roads operating at full capacity and little room for expansion, according to a survey by the city's road traffic management bureau.

With an average increase of 1,166 vehicles a day, the city's road traffic management bureau predicted the city would have three million by May 26.

Of the 15 million urban residents, 4.13 million have driving licenses.

The city has earmarked four billion yuan (US$500 million) to boost public transport and ease congestion this year.

By 2010, the government hopes 40 percent of Beijingers would choose public transport as their primary means of transportation, up from 28 percent reported in 2005.

The city is also working to expand its urban rail network, which will extend 270 kilometers and carry 25 to 30 percent of commuters by 2010.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2007)