[sustran] Beijing 2008: Traffic situation under control?

[Eric Britton]

Thanks to  Rainer Rothfuss for the heads-up?

 

Official statistics say congestion has dropped 78.8 per cent:

http://au.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news/article/-/4834980/traffic-congestio
n-slashed-beijing


Traffic congestion 'slashed in Beijing' 


AAP - July 29, 2008, 8:40 pm 

Chinese authorities claim they have reduced traffic congestion on Beijing
roads by almost 80 per cent ahead of the Olympic Games.

The Beijing Traffic Management Bureau also says minor accidents have halved
since traffic restrictions were introduced earlier this month.

The restrictions include banning private cars on alternate days based on odd
and even number plates, banning "non green" local vehicles and limiting
non-local cars.

There are also 285.7km of lanes dedicated to Olympic vehicles around the
city.

While the move is also aimed at reducing emissions to help improve Beijing's
air quality, the bureau said it would also help traffic efficiency.

Official statistics say congestion has dropped 78.8 per cent since the
restrictions were introduced.

The bureau said Beijing's citizens had been "devoting themselves to and
looking forward to the advent of the Olympic Games" by embracing the
temporary traffic laws.

"This phenomenon has moved us greatly, because the public are positively
responding to the policy and limiting themselves in driving," it said in a
statement.

The bureau said its goal was to have the "best traffic condition in human
history".

This is being done with safe traffic conditions and "beaming traffic
policemen", ensuring harmony between Olympic and non-Olympic traffic, it
said.

In addition, 6,500 traffic police are ready to explain "the profound meaning
of `Smiling Beijing traffic police' with the highest standard and the best
service".

For the Olympic Family, the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic
Games (BOCOG) has brought in 8,660 vehicles and 13,000 professional drivers
to ferry around athletes, officials and media.

Sadly, none of this helped prevented one bus driver getting lost on the 20
minute journey from the main press centre to the media accommodation on
Monday night.


Post-Games Beijing plans to cut traffic


By Ben Blanchard  |   2008-8-14  | 

OLYMPIC host city Beijing has no plans beyond the Games to extend traffic
control measures that have seen half the cars taken off the roads, despite
the program's success at curbing pollution and congestion, an official said
yesterday. 

But Zhou Zhengyu, deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Committee of
Communications, said he hoped citizens would continue taking public
transport and leave their cars at home once the Olympics finished.

Under rules in force from July 20 to September 20, cars are banned on
alternate days depending on whether their licence plates end in odd or even
numbers. The move was one of the emergency steps taken by Beijing to ease
smog levels.

"These restrictive steps, we have called temporary measures," Zhou said. "At
present, we will stick to the measures as announced."

Many who complained the restrictions were inconvenient, especially car
owners, now realized taking public transport was not so bad as the benefits
to the environment could clearly be seen in the reduction in pollution, he
added.

Last month Beijing had 26 "blue sky" days, which China terms as "days with
fairly good air quality," which was three days more than in July last year.
The first three days of August had "top level air quality," according to
authorities.

"A change is happening in people who are learning about public transport
during the Olympics," Zhou said. "We hope that through the Olympics even
more people can see the positive side of public transport."

Beijing's streets regularly grind to a standstill under a crush of traffic,
even when it is not rush hour. Many people view public transport, like the
crowded bus and subway system, as something to avoid if possible.

Yet Zhou said the government was committed to getting people to use public
transport, backed by a massive investment in subways and suburban railways
in particular, and by keeping transport ticket prices low.

Updates on Chines measures to improve traffic management:

http://