The Cost Of Driving In China- tolls greater than the cost of the fuel burned

Paul Midler, The Forbes, 04.20.10 –

HONG KONG — China will spend $300 billion on high-speed rail lines over the next 20 years. The world has seen nothing like it, and China-watchers have responded by drawing analogies to America’s transcontinental railroad, built in the 19th century, or its interstate highway system, built and expanded throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

High-speed rail is not the only thing on the nation’s infrastructure to-do list. China’s General Administration of Civil Aviation has budgeted $62 billion to build 100 new airports by 2020. All of this new infrastructure is being seen as the signs of progress, but what has been missed is how high-speed rail and the new airports are a way for China to get around a major problem it faces–an exorbitant, toll-based road system.

Have a mind to jump in your car and drive from Guangzhou to Beijing? Don’t forget to bring your wallet. The expressways connecting the south to Beijing are expensive, and a trip to the nation’s capital will run you close to $200 each way. Driving on toll roads in China–and almost all of the country’s expressways cost money–runs an average of 0.5 yuan (7 cents) per kilometer, or nearly 12 cents per mile. For many types of cars, the tolls are greater than the cost of the fuel burned.

The jacked-up cost of auto travel in China actually makes high-speed rail seem affordable, but tickets for high-speed trains are still out of reach for most Chinese. The speedy rail line meant to connect Beijing to the southern province of Fujian was closed after only two months in operation due to a lack of commercial interest…….(more details from The Forbes)

Mercedes and BMW Angry Over China Car ‘Copies’

REUTERS via New Zealand Herald, August 31, 2007-

According to the Financial Times, Mercedes and BMW are both threatening legal action over Chinese-made models that look remarkably similar to their own cars.

Even the German Chancellor is getting involved: Angela Merkel recently described copyright infringement in China as “a big problem” during a speech in Beijing.

Mercedes is upset about a car called a Noble, that looks very similar to a smart, while BMW is angry about a Shuanghuan CEO which bears more than a passing resemblance to the previous-generation X5.

Western car companies are usually wary of attacking Chinese car-makers as they need joint ventures with them to enter the Chinese market.

However BMW and Mercedes are such strong brands that they probably feel more confident than most – they also have more to lose from plagiarism. – REUTERS

– Report from New Zealand Herald : Mercedes and BMW angry over Chinese knock-offs

WHO Warns On Beijing Air Pollution- Think twice before travelling to the 2008 China Olympics

BBC News, 17 August 2007-

Some spectators attending the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing face serious health problems due to air pollution, a leading health expert has warned.

Dr Michal Krzyzanowski of the World Health Organisation told the BBC that those with a history of cardiovascular problems should take particular care.

He also said the city’s poor air quality could trigger asthma attacks.

The warning came as Beijing began a four-day test scheme to take 1.3m vehicles off the city’s roads.

During the test period, cars with registration plates ending in odd and even numbers will each be banned from the roads for two day.

Any driver caught contravening the restrictions will be fined 100 yuan ($13, £6.50) by 6,500 police officers.

If the strategy works, it will be used next August to reduce air pollution and traffic during the Olympics.

Officials expect the ban to cut vehicle emissions by 40%, although correspondents said thick smog continued to hang over the city on Friday.

Beijing’s residents, who are being told to take public transport rather than their cars during the test period, appear to be supporting the pilot project.

‘Highly polluted’

But despite the plans to cut emissions, Dr Krzyzanowski said the WHO still feared for the welfare of those planning to attend the games next year.

“All of the cities are pretty highly polluted by European standards, but even by the standards of Asia, Chinese cities are pretty highly polluted,” he told BBC Sport.

“The main problem in Chinese cities is air pollution, small particles which are suspended in the air and penetrate deep into the lungs,” he added.

“More importantly they penetrate other systems, like the cardio-vascular system and travel in the blood through the body.”

Dr Krzyzanowski said people who were not in perfect health ought to think twice before travelling to the games, given the additional stress generated by the excitement of a sporting event, the heat and the poor quality air.

“For them, exposure to high pollution levels may be a trigger to serious problems if they already have, for instance, cardio-vascular disease,” he said.

“Those who come with asthma may suffer attacks – they usually know how to respond to it, but I would be concerned for those who have some cardiac condition,” he added.

“This might be more serious as it requires a much more specialised medical response.”

Traffic doubts

International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge warned last week that events could be postponed if conditions were unhealthy, while some countries say their competitors will arrive in Beijing as late as possible to avoid exposure to pollution.

The air pollution expert also cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Beijing Organising Committee’s experimental traffic ban, saying reducing pollution required long term planning rather than short term fixes.

“I’d be amazed if substantial progress is made in the next 12 months,” he said, pointing out that Beijing’s problems are not just created locally.

“Particles have the ability of travelling thousands of kilometres in the air, so it’s possible the beneficial effect of cutting the traffic in the city will be compensated by the transport of pollution from other parts of China.”

Beijing, home to about 16 million people, has just over 3 million registered vehicles, mostly comprising private cars, buses, taxis and government vehicles.

– Original report from BBC News: WHO fears over Beijing pollution

Beijing Sidelines a Million Cars for Testing Olympic Air Pollution And Traffic Flow

By Daniel Schearf, VOA News, Beijing, 17 August 2007-

Beijing is pulling more than a million cars from the streets to test the effect on air quality and traffic flow. The four-day experiment is part of a search for ways to improve the Chinese capital’s notorious air pollution and horrific traffic jams during next year’s Olympic games. Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.

For four days, most vehicles in Beijing will only be allowed to take to the road on alternate days – odd-numbered license plates one day, even numbers the next.

China’s official Xinhua news agency says the temporary measure is expected to remove more than a third of Beijing’s three million-plus vehicles from city streets.

If the test leads to significant improvements in air quality and traffic flow, Beijing may use a similar method during the Olympic games next year, when 2.5 million visitors are expected to put added strains on the city’s already clogged transportation systems.

Wen Bo is based in Beijing-based for Pacific Environment, a San-Francisco environmental group. He says limiting cars might affect traffic, but is not likely to have a big impact on Beijing’s air quality. He says the city is surrounded by too much polluting industry for temporary measures to make much of a difference.

“Lots of factories have been relocated out of Beijing but they are still surrounding the city. So, they have to deal with the entire region. It’s not just one city,” he said. “You cannot just have a pocket of clean air and a sea of polluted air all around it. By reducing car numbers on the street, you’re only dealing with one section of the problem.”

Olympic teams are worried that the heavy air pollution may affect their athletes’ health during the games.

The International Olympic Committee president said some endurance events might have to be postponed if Beijing’s air quality is too poor……. ( more details from VOA News : Beijing Sidelines a Million Cars for Olympic Air-Quality Test)

255,000 Tires Made in China Recalled

BY ALEJANDRO BODIPO-MEMBA, FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER, Detroit Free Press, USA, August 9, 2007-

Some 255,000 Chinese-made steel-belted radial tires have been recalled by Foreign Tire Sales Inc. of New Jersey, according to a company statement released Thursday morning.

The Union, N.J.-based tire distributor said the tires were defective because they “lacked a safety feature called a gum strip” or contained gum strips that were not large enough.

The announcement comes three months after the company informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of concerns it had over as many as 450,000 tires it had purchased from tire maker Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. Ltd. in China. An initial inspection of a sampling of those tires found problems with the gum strips.

The tires being recalled today were sold from early 2004 to mid-2006 as replacement tires for SUVs, pickup trucks and vans under the brand names Westlake, Compass and YKS. The sizes that were affected include the following: LT235/75R-15; LT235/85R-16; LT245/75R-16; LT265/75R-16 and LT31X10.5 R-15.

“Consumers should know that the affected tires meet all federal motor vehicle safety standards,” said Richard Kuskin, president of Foreign Tire Sales, in the news release. “But we went the extra mile by testing them and determining that they did not meet our standards, which are more rigorous.”

This is a similar problem that led to the nation’s largest tire recall in 2000, involving Bridgestone and Firestone-brand products. On Aug. 9, 2000, Bridgestone/Firestone, which is based in Nashville, Tenn., and is a unit of Japan-based Bridgestone Corp., recalled 6.5 million Firestone tires. The tires, which were mostly on Ford Explorers, were blamed for causing 148 deaths and more than 500 injuries in the United States, at the time.

Officials at the N.J. company said they became concerned about Hangzhou tires in October 2005 amid an increase in warranty claims and began talks with the Chinese company, and then commissioned its own tests.

Foreign Tire Sales was sued in Philadelphia on May 4 by the families of two men killed when a van they were riding in crashed last year. Also suing are the driver and passenger in the van, which the lawsuits claim had Hangzhou tires.

On May 31, Foreign Tire Sales sued Hangzhou in U.S. District Court in Newark, charging that its tests found that the tires may fail earlier than those originally provided by Hangzhou, and that a recall would put the U.S. company of business.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and an injunction that would bar Hangzhou products from being imported.

Foreign Tire Sales officials recommend that drivers check the sidewall of their tires for the brand size, model and Department of Transportation number. For a complete listing of the affected tires and their model numbers, go to http://www.foreigntire.com or call 888-899-9293.

– Original report from Freep.com : 255,000 Chinese-made tires recalled