Beijing's Congestion Charge In 2026 Has Sparked Heated Debate. Why Do Most People Oppose It?

Here we go again, the congestion charge.

Every few years it must be taken out to dry, just like twice-cooked pork. Even if it is fried and burnt, it must still be served to the table. The survey conducted by Sina is really disappointing. 70% of the people expressed opposition. This is not a suggestion at all. It is like stabbing a hornet's nest.

Why should I pay?

reason? The truth is that it's bullshit.

Is there anyone who doesn't know that the real Beijing is actually within the third ring road? After all, hospitals, high-quality schools, and ministry buildings are all densely distributed within the second ring road. Are you going to ask the elderly people who are sick and need medical treatment to pay, or are you going to ask the parents who send their children to cram schools to pay, or are you going to ask those people from other places who have to go to Fuwai Hospital to register for medical treatment to pay? Isn't this clearly stated and is it like a blatant robbery of money?

The person who made the suggestion probably lives in Shunyi, so when you go out, you can take the expressway without traffic jams.

They said that after collecting the money, everyone went to take the bus.

ha.

Have you ever squeezed on Line 1 during the morning and evening rush hours? The feeling is so sour and unforgettable. Have you ever seen Roujiamo? People are squeezed into the carriage just like the stuffing inside the Roujiamo. The same is true for Line 5. Once the bus arrives, you have no way to get on it. You have to wait three times.

Bus? Forget it, some lines only have trains every half hour. During the time I was waiting for the bus, according to my driving speed, I had already reached Xizhimen.

Don't talk about those big words of "removing blockages and combining them", it's useless.

Beijing's public transportation system sounds quite complete, and the subway can run directly through the entire journey, but what is the reality? Transferring can make people so tired that their legs break, so Dongzhimen transfer is an excellent place to exercise. Some stations were opened for more than ten years before they became accessible. The subway at Chaoyang Station was exempted from secondary security checks until recently.

If we really need to charge congestion charges, that's not called relieving congestion, it's called driving the poor into even more crowded subways.

Rich people still use air conditioners in their cars.

Another kind of "lazy government"

Some people call this lazy politics, which I think is quite right.

It's too troublesome to plan, too troublesome to build roads, too troublesome to open up dead roads, so I just want to take it all in. At the end of last year, Huguosi Street was renovated, and an underground parking lot was finally dug out. We also discussed with the residents to determine the price. We negotiated several rounds from 600 to 800.

This is what work looks like!

But in the eyes of some people, it is too troublesome to just charge the money.

If you charge congestion charges, what should out-of-town cars do? Applying for a Beijing Entry Permit is a headache. You actually have to set up checkpoints at the Fourth Ring Road to collect fees? Can ETC solve the problem? Don't be kidding, millions of cars in Beijing are equipped with that thing, and the money spent is enough to repair many roads.

Let’s talk about the Second Ring Road. If you charge 10 yuan, people may not care, but if you charge 50 yuan, people will curse you. When London imposed congestion charges, the subway there was really dense. What about us? After people collected the money, there were indeed fewer cars. We collected the money, but the bus was still congested. There was just an additional charge.

Where do you come from? Where do you go back?

The core problem is actually very simple: good things are all piled together.

Go to Xiehe to see a doctor, go to Financial Street to work, and rush to Haidian Huangzhuang to go to school. Spread these out, build several sub-centers, and decentralize related functions. Who would bother with them every day?

I heard that this year we will open up 71 dead-end roads and install 500 green wave belts. This sounds like human words. The roads have become smoother, the traffic lights have become smarter, and naturally there will be less congestion.

The problem is, no one wants to do these slow jobs. The results are slow and no political achievements can be seen.

How fast you charge, the next file will be.

One day I woke up early in the morning and received a text message: You have entered a toll area and 20 yuan will be deducted. This is what I was afraid of.

At that time, we could only pay attention to the congestion toll, thinking about the Beijing where traffic jams did not cause heartache.