In some key cities and metropolis in the world, traffic congestion is a problem. And while we have heard of various measure being undertaken such as color coding schemes, here is one scheme in London that should help control car use and ease traffic congestion. It is called the Congestion Charge.

The Congestion Charge is a fee charged to motorists who go in and out of Central London. This was first introduced in February of 2003 with the intention of lessening the number of cars allowed into the city.

What is the Congestion Charge?
Simply put, it is an amount charged to motorists who intend to use their car into the city. Depending on the time of the day, various fees shall be charged to motorists traveling in and out of the C-Zone or Central London. The costs are £8 – if you pay by midnight on the day you actually travel, or £10 – if you decide to pay by midnight the following day. No fees are charged on weekends.

How it Works
Through the use of cameras, cars coming in and out are monitored and verified via the database. If the C-Charge for your plate is paid then you are well and good. But if you are found to have not paid, you can face stiff fines and penalties of up to £100.

Pay up within 14 days and that’s reduced to £50. Fail to pay within 28 days and it goes up to £150. After that, you’re in the hands of the County Court, so it’s a lot easier to pay your £8 or £10 up front.

Most motorists would say that this is unfair. But let us face it. During these times of trying to resolve traffic issues, this is one thing that really has to be done for our convenience in motoring.

(Source) Press

Tags: 28 days, cameras, Cars, central london, color coding, congestion charge, control car, convenience, intention, metropolis, motorists, stiff fines, traffic congestion, traffic issues, world traffic

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If there are two factors that a motorist could point out as contributing areas for increased fuel consumption, it has to be getting stuck in traffic. Imagine yourself with the car engine running and waiting forever to advance and you can safely say that you are burning more fuel than getting places.

Who is to blame? Well traffic light programming may be one but thanks to the TrafficFlow Manager, all that may be a thing of the past. Aiming to ease traffic congestion and save the consumer some money from fuel, TrafficFlow Manager is a driver alert display that works with traffic signal timing to alleviate traffic congestion.

TrafficFlow Manager is a programmable electronic sign that can be connected directly to the signal controller or manually set to display a predetermined speed during specific times of the day or days of the week. An optional GPS timer receiver ensures synchronization between the display and the signal controls. The electronic sign can also be set and controlled remotely from a central office using either a cellular modem or Ethernet connection.

Thanks to technology, traffic in certain areas may yet improve. If that is the case, you can bet that TrafficFlow Manager may already be used to help in the daily motoring problems we have to deal with today.

(Source) Press

Tags: car engine, cellular modem, electronic sign, fuel consumption, light programming, money, optional gps, signal controller, timer, traffic congestion, traffic light, traffic signal timing

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In a move to help curb pollution and address the traffic problem plaguing Beijing, it was announced that the post-Olympic restrictions will be extended to help ease traffic congestion and rising air pollution issues. The extension is not really surprising since natives saw the effects of that law in effect to this day.

The restrictions, based on license plate numbers, take 20 percent of the city’s 3.61 million vehicles off roads each weekday.

“It will be carried out from April 11 to April 10, 2010,” said Wang Zhaorong, spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications at a press conference.

Small changes have been made to post-Olympic vehicle restrictions, which began Oct. 11, 2008 and expire April 10.

For private cars, the new ban is only effective from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., compared to 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. under the current rule. The restrictions remain in effect round the clock for government and corporate vehicles.

Residents will be allowed to drive on the Fifth Ring Road throughout the week.

Also, owners will have the same “off-day” for 13 weeks in a row as opposed to just four weeks. The new rotation was designed to reduce confusion.

There continues to be no restrictions on weekends and public holidays and for emergency vehicles, taxies, mass transit vehicles and other public service vehicles.

(Source) Xinhuanet

Tags: air pollution issues, beijing, confusion, corporate vehicles, emergency vehicles, license plate numbers, mass transit vehicles, million vehicles, private cars, public holidays, public service vehicles, small changes, traffic congestion, traffic problem, vehicle restrictions

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