Restricting vehicle license plates in Costa Rica
Posted 07-30-2008 at 08:40 AM by larryhans
Over the past few weeks Costa Ricans who do not rely on public transport, have begun to generate an opinion on the regulations established, in terms of the restriction by plate numbers in the capital.
In general this initiative, as we all know, is a "copy" of what has been done in Honduras, and particularly in Mexico, where it is much more aggressive regulation.
The first impression taken during saturation in peak or saturation hours in regulated routes and traffic circles was relatively good. After a while, we saw that the restriction was changed to the entire day which did not significantly increase the productivity of this regulation, at least at the level that the authorities were expecting.
The main objective of license plate restriction is to reduce oil consumption so that the petroleum import bill can be reduced. On the other hand, according to many Costa Ricans, it is very successful at raising the cost of living for average executive, who cannot, due to various factors, use public transportation and must choose to take a taxi, which is very costly. So the law simply encourages them to violate it, since it is much cheaper to pay the fine instead of paying the fee that the taxi meter would indicate.
The latter condition of the Ticos (as Costa Ricans are generally referred to), is also an attitude where we could lay blame upon a law that clearly has its problems. If a person can pay his gasoline bill, the he should be able to drive freely, without needing to use alternative routes, which directly leads to using more fuel.
On the other hand, there has been a clear decrease in traffic during peak hours, and hence traffic congestion has been relatively minor, so this could be a point in favor of the measure.
The last few weeks have shown that there are still many conflicting views, as well as initiatives to expand the restriction to the entire country, which we believe could be a more definitive solution to the problem. For those of us who require transport no matter the cost, we would simply choose to purchase a second vehicle, or in other cases a motorcycle, which at the end of the day are not bound by these regulations.
What days and what numbers can’t circulate on which days cannot circulate?
¢ 5.000,00.
In general this initiative, as we all know, is a "copy" of what has been done in Honduras, and particularly in Mexico, where it is much more aggressive regulation.
The first impression taken during saturation in peak or saturation hours in regulated routes and traffic circles was relatively good. After a while, we saw that the restriction was changed to the entire day which did not significantly increase the productivity of this regulation, at least at the level that the authorities were expecting.
The main objective of license plate restriction is to reduce oil consumption so that the petroleum import bill can be reduced. On the other hand, according to many Costa Ricans, it is very successful at raising the cost of living for average executive, who cannot, due to various factors, use public transportation and must choose to take a taxi, which is very costly. So the law simply encourages them to violate it, since it is much cheaper to pay the fine instead of paying the fee that the taxi meter would indicate.
The latter condition of the Ticos (as Costa Ricans are generally referred to), is also an attitude where we could lay blame upon a law that clearly has its problems. If a person can pay his gasoline bill, the he should be able to drive freely, without needing to use alternative routes, which directly leads to using more fuel.
On the other hand, there has been a clear decrease in traffic during peak hours, and hence traffic congestion has been relatively minor, so this could be a point in favor of the measure.
The last few weeks have shown that there are still many conflicting views, as well as initiatives to expand the restriction to the entire country, which we believe could be a more definitive solution to the problem. For those of us who require transport no matter the cost, we would simply choose to purchase a second vehicle, or in other cases a motorcycle, which at the end of the day are not bound by these regulations.
What days and what numbers can’t circulate on which days cannot circulate?
- On Mondays license plates ending in 1 and 2.
- On Tuesday license plates ending in 3 and 4.
- On Wednesday license plates ending in 5 and 6.
- On Thursday license plates ending in 7 and 8.
- On Friday license plates ending in in 9 and 0.
¢ 5.000,00.
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