Netizen makes plaster car to protest unreasonable fees
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| by (09/01/23 23:59) |
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The “55” plaster Photo provided by Xcar
By Wang Yu
Netizens at the XCarTianjin community are distributing plaster casts of cars branded withthe number “55” and the text, “I can’t say tooh about it.” The cars area protest against the controversial monthly “passing fee” initiated bythe Tianjin local governmeLiu Bo, chief officer of the TianjinMunicipal Traffic Management Bureau, uttered the phrase now made famouson the plaster cars during his interview with CCTV’s Focus. The programfocuseson controversial social phenomena and has a lot of influence inthe country.
Tianjin took out loans in 1990 to begin constructing its high-qualityroads. To pay back the debt, local authorities installed 42 toll gatesand caused major traffic jams. On June 1, 2003, the bureau begancharging all drivers a monthly 55-yuan ‘passing fee.’ 痵 unfair, Idon’t even drive on such roads, why should I pay the debt?” JinshuLuzhang,*****, said.
Baobao, designer of the plaster car, has been a driver for four years.She made her mark on the topic after proposing her plan on Xcar’s BBSafter the CCTV Focus program aired
“I spent my own money andmade three plaster casts the noon after the broadcast. All we drivershope to do is just make our voices heard by he government. The attitudeof the officer (Liu Bo) on that TV program was unacceptable. It’s ourobligation to pay for the road construction, but we also have the rightto know how much money they have collected durin the past few years andwhere it went,” Baobao said.According to Tianjin’s policy, drivers mustpay a passing fee every year for 25 years starting from 003. No oneknows how the government calculated this figure or how accurate it is,especially with the number of cars on the road increasing yearly.
“Roads are business products since they were builtusing commercial loans. The users are left to pay the debt and theydeserve to know thelocations of these roads to choose their paths,”said Bai Xuejie, a professor at the Institute of TransportationEconomics of Nankai University.Tianjin’s problem was exposed after thegovernment stopped collecting tols on January 1. Similar “passing fees”are charged in major cities like Shanghai and Chongqing. Reforms to thefuel tax mandated a gradual elimination of these fees, but the policynever fixed any plans for the trantion period.
On January 14, Wang Shuxing, vice director of the Tianjin MunicipalTraffic Management Bureau said at a press conference that thecollection of a passing fee is legal and will continue. The totalincome from passing fees collected in 2003 was 7.2 billion yuan.
“I have friends in other districts who will help me distribute theplasters. They are free for all drivers. I won?stop doing this until weget a clear explanation,” Baobao said
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