The Hatoyama administration April 9 announced a new expressway toll system that will take effect in June. The new system will cap per-day tolls on motorcycles and minicars at ¥1,000, standard-size cars at ¥2,000 and larger vehicles, including trucks and buses, at ¥5,000 or ¥10,000 depending on their size. From July, a ¥1,000 cap will be applied to fuel-efficient standard-size cars.

In tandem with the new tariff, from June the government will abolish tolls in 50 sections on 37 routes — about 18 percent of the nation’s expressway network. It will also eliminate many existing discounts, including a ¥1,000 cap on holidays for cars equipped with electronic toll charge (ETC) devices introduced by the previous administration in March 2009. The present system of charging a flat rate based on prefectural zones for the Metropolitan Expressway and the Hanshin Expressway will be replaced with one that costs between ¥500 and ¥900, depending on distance traveled.

The new system of relatively cheap caps could cause many problems. The extension of discounts to all vehicles and the expansion of the discount period from weekends and holidays to every day will likely increase traffic congestion. Accordingly, operators of public transportation systems such as trains, ferries and buses could face financial difficulties.

In terms of cost, drivers of ETC-equipped cars who travel shorter distances — the average distance driven on weekends is just 60 km, and on weekdays just 40 km — will likely pay more under the new system than they do now. And short-haul trucking firms are likely to pay higher tolls under the new system. The ¥5,000 per-day cap on trucks may also result in a decline in the number of trucks that use long-distance ferry services.

The new expressway toll system enables the administration to tap ¥1.4 trillion for expressway construction out of the ¥3 trillion fund originally set aside for expressway toll discounts. This is an opaque way of funding previously planned expressway construction and is apparently aimed at getting votes in the coming Upper House election.

The Democratic Party of Japan has been calling for making expressways toll free, but the Hatoyama administration’s expressway policy seems to have little coherence. The administration plans to review the new expressway toll system in 2011. It should scrutinize the results and make changes as necessary to correct any problems the new system creates.