Local car owners rushing to pay road maintenance fees, after hearing a rumor that they would not receive discounts on the fee if it was paid after the end of the year, have been causing huge traffic jams near the Futian Bus Station this week.

Some drivers had been told that they would not receive the 200-yuan (US$25) discount on the annual road maintenance fee for 2007 if they paid the fee after Dec. 31, said Zhang Yuqing, director of the Futian toll office.

The official said discounts on the road maintenance fee, which is normally 1,200 yuan for the whole year, are available until April 10, 2007.

"The jams, caused by a widespread misunderstanding, are totally unnecessary," he said.

"I got stuck on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway several times in the past few days near the exit on Binhai Thoroughfare, because so many cars were queuing up before the Futian toll office," complained a truck driver surnamed Liu.

The Futian Bus Station, which is near the toll office, had to send employees to keep order and ensure traffic flow was maintained. "So many car owners waiting to pay the fee blocked up the exit of Shennan Thoroughfare on Futian Bus Station and the exit of Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway on Binhai Thoroughfare. We had to do this extra work for the past two weeks," a bus station employee said.

"I am unwilling to go to the Futian Bus Station to pick up passengers now (because of the terrible jams)," a taxi driver was quoted by the Shenzhen Economic Daily as saying Thursday.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 car owners are going to the Futian toll office daily to pay the fee, Zhang said.

The road management authorities started to charge the fee Dec. 11. Apart from 18 toll offices around the city which collect the fee, vehicle owners can also pay it through remittance, bank account transfer or online payment.

People can swipe their bankcards at the toll offices, transfer money to the bank account of the Guangdong Provincial Finance Department or pay at www.gdylf.com.

Editor: Donald