Starting Today, Congestion Toll Collection Begins for Namsan 1 and 3 Tunnels

Congestion Toll Fee of 2,000 Won Required

The congestion toll for Namsan Tunnel Nos. 1 and 3, which was temporarily waived for two months, will be collected again starting from the 17th.

A re-collection notice banner hung at Namsan No.1 Tunnel, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to Seoul City, from that day onward, on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., passenger cars or vans with up to 10 seats carrying two or fewer occupants, including the driver, must pay the existing congestion toll of 2,000 won when passing through Namsan Tunnel Nos. 1 and 3. Weekends and public holidays remain free of charge.

The city waived the toll for two months to verify the effectiveness of the congestion toll policy for Namsan Tunnel Nos. 1 and 3, which has been in effect since 1996.

Since the imposition of the congestion toll, the number of vehicles passing through Namsan Tunnel Nos. 1 and 3 decreased from 90,404 per day in 1996 to 71,868 in 2021, a reduction of 20.5%. The decrease was even greater for passenger cars, at 32.2%.

However, as the toll of 2,000 won had been maintained for 27 years, the perceived burden lessened, and with exemptions for buses, trucks, electric vehicles, and others according to ordinances reaching 60%, there were criticisms that the collection effect had diminished.

Accordingly, to accurately assess the policy effect, the city waived tolls for one month from March 17 for the outer (Gangnam) direction, and from April 17 waived tolls in both directions?toward the city center and the outskirts.

As the congestion toll collection will resume after two months, the city requested that drivers traveling on Namsan Tunnel Nos. 1 and 3 and adjacent roads such as Sowol-gil and Jangchungdan-ro check the road traffic conditions before entering.

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