Richard Han

ximhan@126.com

DRIVERS going to Dapeng New Area for the May Day holiday need to make reservations starting today through the WeChat accounts of the Shenzhen traffic police or Dapeng traffic police, or the Shenzhen police’s official website or QR code, before entering designated areas.

Those who fail to make reservations before entering the restricted areas will be fined 300 yuan (US$44) and have three penalty points added to their license.

The restricted areas include those covered by Dapeng and Nan’ao subdistricts south of Diefushan Tunnel. Guanhu, Rose Coast and Xichong areas in Kuichong Subdistrict are not covered by the restriction.

Police will provide a quota of 30,000 reservations, comprising 20,000 for individual drivers and 10,000 for businesses in the area. Reservations made through businesses are not subject to restrictions on the time of arrival in the area. Reservations made by individuals require arriving during designated time periods, from midnight to 12 p.m., 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., or 6 p.m. to 12 p.m.

Those who can’t arrive within the designated time period because of congestion or an accident must report the delay to the system via smartphone. The system can automatically extend the arrival period by six hours. Those who have canceled their reservations on three occasions will be disqualified from making another reservation for a year.

During the May Day holiday last year, when police introduced the reservation system, a total of 47,109 vehicles went to Dapeng, and the congestion in the area hit a record low in three years.

Police said the reservation policy covers legal holidays and weekends between May 1 and Oct. 7. Traditional cabs don’t require reservations, but app-based bikes do.