Urban Rail Transit Pricing Strategies for Mitigating Traffic Congestion: A Case Study of Ningbo

In recent years, several cities in China have built urban rail transit to mitigate urban traffic congestion, and almost all of these cities have high expectations of rail transit. However, even after the completion of the rail transit in several cities, the goal of mitigating congestion has not been reached. In this essay, the reasons that the rail transit failed in mitigating urban traffic congestion are summarized. The main reason that rail transit failed in attracting self-drive travelers transfer to take rail transit was the improper positioning of the rail transit. The different demand levels of travelers and functional orientation of rail transit were also analyzed in this essay. The conclusion of this analysis is that in order to attract private car owners to take rail transit, a higher price should be determined and a more comfortable traveling environment should be offered at the same time. Based on this idea and the goal of alleviating traffic congestion, pricing strategies of rail transit are proposed for Ningboas an example, and several safeguard measures are also put forward to insure the function of the pricing strategies.