Gyeonggi-do Abolishes 'Passenger Car Day System' After 12 Years

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will abolish the 'Passenger Car Day Off System' after 12 years. Gyeonggi Province announced on the 30th that it will abolish the Passenger Car Day Off System starting from the 31st of this month.

The Passenger Car Day Off System is a citizen practice campaign under the 'Urban Traffic Maintenance Promotion Act' where passenger car users voluntarily choose one weekday not to drive in order to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution caused by passenger car traffic.

Gyeonggi Province introduced the system in October 2008 in connection with Seoul City's Passenger Car Day Off System. However, issues were raised regarding its efficiency due to a participation rate of only about 2%, the occurrence of selfish driving where drivers receive benefits but do not attach electronic tags on their day off, and the reduced effect of exhaust gas reduction due to the expansion of eco-friendly vehicle distribution. Additionally, in cities and counties where public transportation is inconvenient, it was difficult to promote the Passenger Car Day Off System, making it problematic to operate the system at the provincial level.

With the abolition of the Passenger Car Day Off System, new registrations will be stopped, but to minimize inconvenience to residents caused by the abolition, the province will maintain the benefits of the system for existing participants during a three-month grace period.

Accordingly, starting from December, the Passenger Car Day Off System will be operated based on the autonomous judgment of each city and county.

A provincial official urged, "Even though the provincial-level Passenger Car Day Off System is ending, please participate in voluntary citizen practice campaigns to reduce traffic volume and protect the environment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.