NEXCO East Japan held a regular press conference at its headquarters in Kasumigaseki on July 26. In attendance were Fumihiko Yuki, President and Representative Director; Shigeki Yagi, General Manager of the Administration Business Division; and Hideo Yoshimi, General Manager of the Service Area and New Business Division.
The company, MLIT, and Chiba Prefecture are conducting a social experiment of ETC time zone tolls on the Tokyo Bay Aqualine uplink (Kisarazu to Kawasaki direction), and since it just started on July 22, the figures immediately after the experiment were explained.
To recap, the Aqua-Line is frequently congested due to the concentration of traffic during certain hours on weekends and holidays, and the ETC fee will be discounted or increased by dividing the day into three time periods. The period is from July 22 to March 31, 2024, on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
The ETC fee for a standard car is 800 yen on weekdays, but on weekends and holidays, the fee is 800 yen from 0:00 to 13:00, 1200 yen from 13:00 to 20:00, and 600 yen from 20:00 to 24:00.
This time, since there was an accident on the first day, the 22nd, the traffic situation on the following day, the 23rd, is shown. The comparison is to the same Sunday, July 24, 2022, but the daily traffic itself has increased by about 900 vehicles, partly due to the Corona disaster. However, there was a decrease of about 350 cars at 19:00, just before the toll changeover, and an increase of about 300 cars between 20:00 and 24:00, when the toll was reduced from 1,200 yen to 600 yen.
President Yuki stated that he hopes this demonstration experiment will “ease congestion, facilitate logistics, and promote tourism in Chiba Prefecture” in the future.
In addition, LED signs are posted on the shoulders of the road to warn people not to wait for the toll changeover or rush into the toll booths, and rubber cones have been installed to prevent vehicles from getting stuck in the road. No major disruptions have been reported.
© Source travel watch