detoll

The Japanese government's populist move last year to remove tolls on some of the country's toll expressways seems be moving in reverse. Since last summer the central government has been paying the toll corporations compensatory payments for removed tolls.

However recently its budgetary situation has worsened to the point it can't continue the compensatory payments, spokesmen say. In addition the toll removals worsened congestion by attracting extra traffic, and generated a political backlash.

TOLLROADSnews 2011-05-26

Japan's Democratic Party government is in a heap of trouble over its election pledge a year ago to end tolls on the country's expressway network. Since coming to power in September last year the Democrats have managed to turn what started out as a successful political pandering into a worsening political disaster.

Sydney's first tollroad in the automobile era, the M4 heading west out of Sydney is no more. As of midnight Feb 15 the 20 year concession held by State Wide Roads expired, the road was turned over to the state of New South Wales (NSW), and toll collection ended.

An average of 100k vehicles use the six lane expressway each day.

Japan's Democratic Party government will confine any toll removals next financial year to  the sparsely settled northern island of Hokkaido, reducing the cost to a tiny fraction of the Y600b ($6.6b @ Y=1.1c) they previously said they would spend on detolling, Yomiuri Shimbun reports. The leading newspaper cited statements made by the party leader and prime minister Yukio Hatoyama in a closed meeting of lawmakers recently.

Japan's transport department estimates that ending tolls on Japan's expressways, as proposed by the the incoming Democrat Party of Yukio Hatoyama, will increase car use for trips of 200km (124 miles) or more by 58% and cause rail passenger travel in the country to decline 11% and air travel to drop by 4%.

The Democrats who just swept to power in Japan in a landslide national election have promised to nationalize toll companies and end tolls by 2012. Since 9,000km, 5600 miles of tollroad in Japan constitutes the great bulk of the country's expressway system this is a most radical proposal.

Climaxing a long campaign and protests, New Hampshire's Executive Council has voted 4 to 1 to reject requests from the city of Merrimack to end tolls on ramps there. The lone vote in favor of ending Merrimack tolls came from Councillor Debora Pignatelli who represents the area and has been one of the most vocal advocates of detolling Merrimack.