Beijing puts limits on new vehicle registrations to stem traffic jam epidemic

BEIJING - Beijing has announced new traffic measures, including limiting registration of new vehicles, in a major effort to tackle traffic jams on roads in China’s capital city.

China Daily quoted Zhou Zhengyu, Deputy Secretary-General of the municipal government, as saying that only 240,000 vehicles would be registered next year in Beijing, a city with a population of 19 million.

He further said that from Friday onwards, car registration will be allocated by a license-plate lottery system.

Private car buyers will receive 88 percent, or 17,600 plates per month on average. Two percent will be for commercial use, while the remaining 10 percent will go to companies, government institutions and others, Zhou added.

“The number of cars in Beijing has grown quickly as urbanization and modernization progresses. This has caused severe congestion in some downtown areas, especially at rush hour. Decisive measures shall be taken to control traffic in Beijing. Otherwise, the congestion will only get worse,” the paper quoted him, as saying.

Traffic jams in Beijing have worsened recently, with reports claiming that as of December 19, the capital had 4.76 million vehicles, 700,000 more than that at the beginning of 2010 and contrasting with 2.6 million in 2005. (ANI)