The high-occupancy vehicle control (HOV) policy remains the most effective way to regulate traffic on the Chiang Wei-shui Freeway (Freeway No. 5) during holidays, Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Kuang-shih (葉匡時) said yesterday, adding that the ministry is considering increasing the difference in toll fees between peak and off-peak hours in an effort to ease congestion.
There is often heavy traffic during holidays on the freeway, which connects Taipei and Yilan, due to the limited capacity of the Hsuehshan Tunnel. To address the issue, the National Freeway Bureau launched a four-week trial in the middle of last month aimed at easing traffic by reducing toll fees during off-peak hours and increasing the fares during peak hours.
The peak hours for southbound traffic designated by the trial are between 6am and 12pm on Saturday, whereas off-peak hours for northbound traffic are between 6am and 12pm on Sunday. Motorists driving on Freeway No. 5 pay a 50 percent higher toll fee if they are driving south during peak hours and those driving north during off-peak hours pay a 50 percent lower fee. People driving south at off-peak hours on Saturdays, as well as those driving north at peak hours on Sundays, pay the same toll fees as they do now.
The bureau said the scheme has helped boost traffic during off-peak hours by about 15 percent and the traveling time between Taipei and Yilan has been shortened from about an hour to 54 minutes.
Facing questions from lawmakers serving on the legislature’s Transportation Committee, Yeh said that the bureau is scheduled to present a performance review of the trial within a week.
However, he said that setting different toll fees for peak and off-peak hours has only had a slight effect on congestion. Yeh added that the HOV policy, which requires drivers to carry at least two other people in their vehicles before they can go on the freeway, is still the most effective strategy to regulate traffic on Freeway No. 5.
Aside from encouraging more people to use the public transport system, Yeh said that the ministry would consider further increasing the difference in toll fees between peak and off-peak hours, but he added that there remain challenges to overcome for that option.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) said that while taking the freeway is the fastest route to Yilan, the ministry should encourage people who are not in a hurry to take Provincial Highway No. 9 or other highways, which have many tourist attractions along the way.
Yang said the ministry could also consider utilizing small aircraft to take people to Yilan.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said that the toll fee scheme has proven to be ineffective because the difference in fares is less than NT$50 — an insignificant amount for a lot of people.
“In my opinion, people choosing to travel at off-peak hours should not have to pay toll fees,” she said.
However, the bureau said that making off-peak hours toll-free would not help ease traffic congestion either.
“The majority of people driving to Yilan are tourists. Even if off-peak hours become toll-free, the traffic would not change much if toll fees at peak hours are not raised accordingly,” Traffic Management Division Director Lu Wen-yu (呂文玉) said.
The bureau said that increasing the difference in toll fees might still not work because demand is one-and-a-half times higher than supply, adding that raising the toll fee would upset some drivers.
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