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Road pricing to ease traffic woes, say researchers
Belgians waste a lot of time and money commuting to and from work by car every day, and the traffic jams are getting worse every year. A new report by the Policy Research Centre on Commodity and Passenger flows (MOBILO) offers a clear solution to relieve congestion in urban areas: road pricing, or charging motorists to use busy roads at certain times.
Seven in ten employees in Belgium get behind the wheel to go to work, and only 26% of Belgians work in the same city as where they live. Traffic congestion, as a result, is only becoming worse, writes De Standaard.
"The trend is worrisome," says Ann Verhetsel, economics professor at the University of Antwerp and co-author of the report. "Efforts by government and businesses have had limited effect," she says in reference to carpooling and telecommuting (working from home), which were presented as solutions to the traffic problem since the beginning of 2000.
The professor therefore urges support for road pricing: “The only solution is to make driving more expensive, much more expensive. Only then will we make the switch to public transport or the bicycle. Other countries have shown that a financial measure, combined with a strong expansion of public transport, does have an effect."
Comments
About time! We need a congestion charge like in London and we need to impose tolls on usage of our Ring Road so trucks/cars/caravans crisscrossing Belgium have to help pay for our road upkeep. Most European countries impose a fee so why shouldn't we? Am tired of the Belgian taxpayer paying for disruption and cost when millions use our roads, including ourselves! Look to France -- they have wonderful autoroutes and the road users accept the cost.
Oh dear ! And NOW we know that the wonderful solutions (car-pooling and teleworking) do not work... How sad we were so stupid as not to think that they would of course ONLY work when there are incentives enough... Always pull, never push, that seems to be the rule, because "freedom of choice" is sacro-saint ! That's an idiotic liberal view, taken onboard by socialists and CDH as well. Actually you MUST always push and pull, otherwise you won't get any results. Now it seems we may get the message, 20 years later... Laughable... OF COURSE MAKE PEOPLE PAY THEIR WAY - THAT IS FREE MARKET !
I think the first step should be to provide proper parking on the metro end points for free.
Currently there are only a few little areas where you can park for free to take the metro into Brussels. In most places you cannot if you don't want to pay 20 or 40 Euro per day. The Brussels regions have a different idea then the government. They want money and they make sure they get it.
If you live just outside Brussels with no direct Bus or train connection, you have no choice then get to the nearest metro station by car, park the car and use the metro.
By the way, have you ever tried the ring around Paris or Madrid, or Rom or any major city? It is not different. whatever system they have, it does not work.
London is trying to make a difference and it is chaos. Try to use the metro at 5pm. It's hell and more stress than a full days work. I did it for years and I am happy I don't have to do this any more.
I now have a motorbike, for me the only way in and out of Brussels within a timely manner.
A lot could also be done by companies. Company bus service is one of the options. Park and ride another. But it has to be affordable. Making it more expensive to have some work in Brussels does not help. The rich ones don't care and the poor ones can't afford it.
Who works from home now? None of my friends who work outside of Brussels are giving this option, at all. Which companies are following this because it seems nobody is.
Also, I don't like driving, but I'm sick and tired of waiting for buses that come in late, or are deviated, and the best part is how when it rains and you're waiting for a bus, there is no where to hide in many bus stops.
The public transportation system in Brussels is also a nightmare, not to mention how the drivers are complete imbeciles in applying the brakes.