CHINA: OLYMPICS - Beijing prepares to combat pollution for the 2008 Olympics by ordering cars off the road

Beijing has ordered over a million cars off the road for the next four days in order to conduct clean air tests in preparation for next years' Olympic Games. Over the next four days Beijing citizens will have cleaner air, if a test to clear away the blanket of smog over the capital is successful. In preparation for the Olympic Games in August 2008, authorities have ordered more than 1.3 million cars off the city streets to see if the air quality will improve. From 6:00 a.m. until midnight on Friday (August 17), drivers with an even number as the final digit on their licence plate face fines if they take to the city roads. Odd numbered cars are banned on Saturday (August 18) and Monday (August 20), while vehicles with even numbers must also stay off the roads on Sunday (August 19). Drivers caught flouting the restrictions must pay a 100 yuan (13.19 USD) fine. On Friday, traffic police were reporting that most drivers seemed happy to comply with the regulations, especially since they are associated with the Olympics. Inspector Wang, a traffic policeman said that after an hour on duty on a busy city ring road he had only stopped one car. "People are very conscientious and obey the law. So even before I came out today I was sure that there would not be many people breaking the rules and some of my colleagues have said this is a special occasional," added Wang. To deal with the extra burden on public transport, city authorities increased rush hour bus and metro services. Luo Zi normally travels to work by private car but today after taking the bus, she said in the future she would use more public transport. "It's great, its very convenient, actually, its no more trouble than taking the car," said Luo. Bus conductors, used to the heavy traffic conditions, noticed an improvement in traffic flow and an increase in passengers. "The situation today is much faster than normal when there are usually traffic jams," said a bus conductor. Less cars on the road is good news for Beijing's cyclists, who noticed not only less cars but also an improvement in air quality. "How shall I put it, if this rule was enforced every day then the restrictions would certainly make things difficult for some drivers, especially in the mornings. But, for cyclists like us, we wish this rule would apply every day. There are less cars and the air quality is much better," said Ms Cheng. In order to cater for the restrictions on Friday, government offices opened half an hour earlier at 8 a.m. (0000 GMT) and shopping malls were to open an hour later than usual at 10 a.m. (0200 GMT). The Chinese capital's car tally hit the 3 million mark in May and more than 1,000 more are registered every day, snarling up the city's roads and pumping nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter into the air. Beijing is closing down the worst-polluting factories and switching thousands of homes from coal to gas use, but air quality remains the biggest concern for organisers with less than a year to go until the Games open on August 8, 2008. Seoul used similar traffic control measures when it hosted the Olympics in 1988, while Athens had battled its pollution problem with the same tactics for more than a decade before it held the Games in 2004.

ITN Source | August 18, 2007

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