Is national highway tolling really a "turnaround"? Faced with the phenomenon of restarting national highway toll stations in many places, many netizens were puzzled by this and questioned whether the government set up toll stations again in order to make profits.
Li Daokui, dean of Tsinghua University, made it clear that the reopening of toll booths is not to make money, but to balance the cost of road construction and maintenance, which is reasonable.
In recent years, with the construction and maintenance of many important national highways in China, the financial pressure has gradually increased.
For example, the construction cost of the Yellow River Bridge in Jinan, Shandong Province is as high as 7.9 billion yuan, and the huge maintenance costs have become a huge burden on the local finances.
In order to alleviate this financial pressure, the government had to consider adding additional toll booths.
Taking Jinan as an example, the toll station of the Yellow River Bridge is not only to make up for the cost of road construction, but also to take into account the interests of local residents, and implement a toll-free policy for local residents.
This initiative truly reflects the government's intention to start from the people's livelihood, and also provides experience for other regions.
Li further analyzed the background of the problem, pointing out that the rapid growth of the electric vehicle market has had a impact on the use of crude oil, which in turn has affected the government's revenue through fuel taxes and purchase taxes.
Road construction requires continuous capital investment, and declining revenues make this investment a major challenge.
Therefore, the addition of toll booths became a way to balance the cost of road construction.
Li Daokui particularly emphasized that this kind of toll is not simply for profit, but to maintain the normal operation and maintenance of the road network.
This incident has sparked widespread discussion in society.
Some netizens believe that the return of toll booths has undoubtedly brought a certain economic burden to people's travel.
It has also been pointed out that since the government has taken into account the interests of local residents in the charging policy and has made it clear that the purpose of charging is for road maintenance, the reasonableness of the toll should not be completely denied.
This is not the first time that similar charging policies have emerged, as in some developed countries, the maintenance of public infrastructure is often obtained in a similar way, with the aim of long-term transport infrastructure development.
The reopening of national highway toll booths is not only due to the actual need for road maintenance, but also a response to the lack of resources of local finances.
The toll station of the Yellow River Bridge in Shandong provides a reference for other regions, which not only relieves financial pressure, but also ensures the travel interests of local residents.
This model may be rolled out in more regions, but only if people's livelihood needs are fully taken into account and a transparent charging mechanism is ensured.
Behind the reopening of toll booths, in fact, it reflects a necessary adjustment of the government in the face of economic transformation and reduced resources.
In the face of this change, we need to be rational, both to understand the reasons for the charges and to accept such changes in public policy within a reasonable range.
The maintenance and construction of national highways is related to the safety and convenience of everyone's travel, is the return of toll booths really unacceptable? This is a question worth pondering.