On the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line connecting Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, "road pricing," which fluctuates tolls depending on the time of day with the aim of alleviating traffic congestion, was first introduced on a trial basis last weekend, and although traffic congestion occurred on the first Sunday, changes such as shortening the travel time were observed.
In order to alleviate traffic congestion, which has become an issue on the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line, the national government and Chiba Prefecture have introduced "road pricing" on a trial basis, which raises tolls from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. by 50% on the up line from Chiba Prefecture to Kanagawa Prefecture only on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and reduces the toll by 8% from 0:25 p.m. to midnight the next day.
NEXCO East Japan released data comparing traffic volume on July 7, the first Sunday after the introduction of the test, and Sunday at the same time one year ago.
It
found that traffic between 23 and 1 p.m. did not change significantly during the time when fares were raised
, but at 1 p.m., just before the price was reduced, it decreased
by about 6 percent. Conversely, after the price cut, the 7 to 17 p.m. range increased by about 8%.
Traffic jams have remained the same, but the longest traffic jam has been reduced from 11 kilometers a year ago to 7.1 kilometers, and the maximum time taken to pass has also been reduced by 15 minutes.
At a press conference, Governor Kumagai of Chiba Prefecture stated, "We are taking it positively because we can see that traffic has been dispersed, and since it is only one day of data, we would like to continue to analyze it."