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July 25, 2008 5:22:09 PM CDT

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China's Drivers Steer Clear of Tolls

Posted May 16, 07 6:02 PM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Tolls are literally taking a toll in China, where thrifty motorists try to steer around the tollbooths cropping up on the country's highways. An infrastructure boom has created 40,000 kilometers of new toll roads since 1990, and drivers are doing anything—from faking toll-exempt plates to making long detours on back roads—to avoid the pricey fees.

Drivers' unwillingness to pay to use the new roads poses a dilemma for the government, which needs the highways to speed development in the inner provinces. But the fees are roughly equivalent to tolls in Germany, where incomes are far higher. So drivers detour onto peripheral roads, where enterprising villagers have set up a cheaper shadow toll system.

Source International Herald Tribune

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Vehicles on a Beijing highway pass towering smokestack chimneys...   (Getty Images)
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Yanggongqiao Overpass In Chongqing   (Getty Images)
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China  • Driving  • development  • toll


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