Cars lifted to pay highway tolls

The State Council released an announcement stating that cars with seven seats or less won't have to pay highway tolls during four Chinese holidays - Spring Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, May Day and National Day.

The policy will be effective starting on the next National Day on Oct 1.

But some highway companies - because many of them have gone public - are worrying about their profits. They say that the income from the national holidays accounts for 3 to 5 percent of their total annual income.

HUIFEIDEQIQIUWU: I support the new policy, but I'm also worried about possible traffic jams during those days.

NANYANGYOUYISHUOYI: The new policy may lead to a boom in tourism and will be good to stimulate domestic consumption.

At the very beginning, there will be traffic jams and more cars will be on the road. But the jams will ease as people get used to the policy. On the other side, it will be important to set up lanes so that emergency vehicles can avoid the traffic jams.

AODINGDESHUANGYAN: There won't be traffic jams if people don't have to stop to pay the tolls. Usually, the jams happen at the toll stations.

XIAOHECAILOUJIANJIANJIAO: I don't think that traffic jams will be more serious with the new policy. After all, if people have a choice, nobody will want to travel during those days just to take advantage of the toll waivers.

GAONENGLAOHUANGNIU: Some experts said that the new policy will cut the operators' income by about 20 billion yuan ($3.17 billion) and that the income from those days accounts for 3 percent of their total annual incomes. Everyone in the country contributes several hundred yuan to the operators.

YEYUMIAOHAN: If the new policy is implemented, the government should also release some measures to give compensations to the operators.

All information from Tencent Weibo.