China mulls congestion fee to ease traffic in Beijing

According to a five-year plan released by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, the proposal follows the limiting of new cars in January last year, which capped new car ownership through a lottery system at 20,000 per month.

The number of vehicles on Beijing's streets surpassed five million at the beginning of this year, making it one of the most congested Chinese cities.

"Congestion fees have been a key topic of research by the city's transport department in thepast several years," Song Guohua, an associate professor in transport planning and management at Beijing Jiaotong University told state-run China Daily.

"As mega cities face more serious traffic congestion, levying congestion fees has become a trend. In general, I think the method is necessary and rational," he said,