Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin （郝龍斌） made it clear on Tuesday that the city government was not ready to adopt a congestion charging system, similar to the one adopted in London in 2003, to reduce traffic volume in the city.Media reports said on Tuesday that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications was thinking of charging motorists between NT$20 and NT$50 to enter Taipeis east district, but Hau argued that the idea was premature.

He said that a city should have a full-fledged mass rapid transit system before such fees could be considered, and believed the best time to evaluate the feasibility of congestion charges would be in four years when Taipeis MRT system is fully developed. The mayor added that he would b

e willing to discuss the issue with central government officials provided that the government increased its financial subsidies and helped Taipei complete its MRT network sooner than planned.

Taipeis eastern district, where the Taipei city government, Taipei 101 and the Taipei World Trade Centers three exhibition halls are located, was targeted by the MOTC because it is the busiest and most congested area in the city.

Taipei Citys Transportation Department agreed that the district was the ideal, but said the best time to launch the program was in 2013, when the second phase of the MRT network was completed. The agency warned that a hastily imposed fee system without a sound public transportation network in place would face strong opposition.

The Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development backed the idea, however, claiming it would force people to use public transportation. CEPD officials noted that the use of public transportation in Taipei was at about 35 percent, significantly lower than that of many major international cities where usage rates usually exceed 60 percent.

According to recent surveys, Hong Kongs usage rate is the highest in the world, exceeding 90 percent, followed by London, Paris and Sydney, where rates exceed 70 percent, and Tokyo, which has a rate approaching 70 percent.

The fee system has been successfully introduced in other systems and the technology used for the program is said to be well developed.

In 2003, London began charging five pounds for each motorist that entered an eight-square mile area in the city center in an attempt to force commuters to use public transportation. The congestion fee was then raised to eight pounds in 2005.

In February of this year, the congestion charging zone was further extended to West London.

Although the London mayor claims that the congestion charging system has cut traffic jams in central London by 30 percent and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by about 20 percent, most retailers and restaurant owners in the city center have complained about a decrease in the number of customers.

London was not the first city to adopt a congestion fee program, but as of today, it is the largest city to have done so.