City to temporarily waive tolls at Namsan tunnels

Cars pass through the toll gate before entering Namsan Tunnel No. 1 in the direction of southern Seoul on Jan. 26. [NEWS1]

Seoul will stop collecting day-time tolls at Namsan tunnels for two months from March 17 to determine if the fees have been effective in dispersing traffic.

“We want to see if the 2,000 won [$1.55] toll is still high enough to discourage drivers from using these passageways during rush hours,” said the Seoul Metropolitan Government in its statement on Monday. “This is by no means a preceding measure to a total scrapping of the toll.”

The city has been charging 2,000 won to all cars carrying less than three people and passing through Namsan Tunnel Nos. 1 and 3 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays. Exceptions include public buses and cargo trucks.

The measure has been in place since 1996 to prevent rush-hour traffic congestion by encouraging more drivers to use the bottleneck passageway before 7 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

From 1996 to 2021, traffic through the tunnels dropped around 20 percent from an average of around 90,400 cars a day to 71,900 cars. The average speed of vehicles passing through the tunnels also increased from 21.6 kilometers per hour (13.4 miles per hour) to 38.2 kilometers per hour in the same time period.

Starting March 17, tolls will be waived for southbound traffic through the tunnels through April 16.

From April 17 to May 16, tollls will be waived for both southbound and northbound traffic.

The 2,000 won toll will return for both directions at the two tunnels from May 17.

The city will announce its findings in June and declare any changes to the toll policy within the year.

“This will be an attempt to discern the effects of tolls on traffic,” said Yoon Jong-jang, director of the city’s transportation bureau. “Through such public policy analyses, we will do our best to promote adequate transportation administration for our citizens.”

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]