Some parking spots in the increasingly crowded city of Beijing can cost as much as 1 million yuan, or $160,000. While the priciest places are found in upscale central apartment buildings, even suburban spots 30 miles from the city's center can cost between 150,000 and 200,000 yuan, Quartz reported via Beijing News.
Drivers may also be shelling out these exorbitant fees for property they already own. Chinese property law states that a garage is considered communal space for a building's tenants unless the underground area is specifically named part of a land parcel's purchase, Quartz reported via the Worker's Daily.
Besides possibly being exploited, residents are paying more than the cost of a car to obtain a spot partly due to a rise in car ownership that Beijing just can't handle. With a car per every two or three residents, Beijing has around 7.5 million drivers, something the city's infrastructure isn't prepared for.
As it becomes more crowded, Beijing has been plagued with dangerous pollution levels, inspiring the government to take measures including limits on car ownership, subsidies for green vehicles and driving schedules. The number of vehicles in Beijing will be limited to 6 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Quartz pointed out that while reduced emissions will make for cleaner air, the reduction in vehicles won't necessarily help the parking situation: Most of the 1 million or so cars taken off Beijing streets will be older vehicles owned by peripheral suburbanites, not luxury cars competing for space in the heart of the city.
Overall, the government is looking to trim gasoline and diesel use by 5 percent by 2017, while continuing to fund public transportation. The target is for more than 50 percent of all travel in the city's center to be through public transport by the same year.
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