Beijing will significantly increase fees for roadside parking in its central areas to ease vehicle congestion, traffic authorities said on Wednesday.

With more than 5 million motor vehicles, Beijing is one of the most congested cities in China. In recent years, officials and experts have called for increased parking fees in central areas todis courage the use of cars.

Rong Jun, spokesman of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, did not elaborate on how much the parking fees will be raised this year.

Roadside parking fees set by the Beijing municipal government differ across the city. In downtown areas within the Third Ring road and areas such as the Central Business District, the roadside parking fee is 35 yuan ($5.30) per day, according to Beijing Parking Management.

Parking companies can charge 10 yuan or more per hour to park on the roadside in central areas, according to a report in Beijing Times.

Zhang Jiandong, deputy mayor of Beijing, said this week that Beijing will use economic measures to reduce the use of private cars, including increased parking fees.

To ease traffic congestion, authorities will intensify management of parking in central areas and launch special campaigns to crack down on illegal parking.

Beijing will reduce the number of parking spaces on roads in areas with heavy traffic such as shopping malls, restaurants and entertainment venues to discourage people from using cars, said Li Shaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau.

The city will coordinate with companies or institutions near residential areas or hospitals so that people other than their employees can use dormant parking spaces, he said.

Chen Yanyan, a professor of transportation at Beijing University of Technology, said measures such as increased parking fees can reduce traffic congestion in the short term. The move to end the long run, however, the best solution is to further improve public transportation, she said.

"Intensifying management and supervision is very important for checking on irregularities such as illegal parking," she said.

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