Japan eyes variable expressway tolls for Tokyo 2020

August 26, 2019

Tokyo--The Japanese government said Monday it plans to change expressway tolls in the Tokyo area between daytime and nighttime during the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in the capital to relieve traffic congestion.

The plan calls for charging an additional 1,000 yen for vehicles except logistics trucks and some others between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Tokyo sections of the Metropolitan Expressway network.

Between midnight and 4 a.m., tolls will be halved for all vehicles using electronic toll collection devices on all sections of the expressway network.

The variable toll system will be in place between July 20 and Aug. 10 and between Aug. 25 and Sept. 6 next year.

The expressway network is expected to be crowded with vehicles carrying spectators and officials during the games period, causing problems for transportation of athletes. The variable toll system is expected to help reduce traffic during daytime by encouraging people to use the network during nighttime.

The plan won broad approval at a meeting of officials from the organizing committee of the Tokyo Games and the Tokyo metropolitan government as well as other experts.

At the meeting, the outcomes of large-scale trials to control traffic volume in the metropolitan area held on July 24 and 26 were reported.

The trials, including the partial closure of expressway entry ramps, reduced the traffic volume by some 7 pct from a year before. But the meeting's participants found it necessary to carry out further measures, leading to the decision to introduce the variable toll system.

The organizing committee and the metropolitan government are calling on companies to adopt teleworking and change distribution routes as part of the effort to ease traffic congestion during the games.

They aim to reduce the expressway traffic volume by up to 30 pct to create traffic flows as smooth as holidays. Jiji Press