Car Ban To Solve Beijing Air Pollution

The Chinese government has implemented a strict programme to halve the number of cars on the road in Beijing in a last ditch bid to solve the air pollution problem prior to this summer’s Olympics.

The two-month operation bans cars with odd-numbered license plates one day from the city centre, even-numbered plates the next. Those caught driving on days they should not will be fined $14.

The programme is part of on ambitious attempt to ensure ‘blue sky days’ by the time 10,500 athletes and 500,000 visitors arrive for the Olympics in mid-August including construction cutbacks and factory closures.

Sun Weide, spokesman for Beijing’s Olympic organizing committee, said the plan should reduce vehicle emissions by 63%. The emissions are a major cause of the thick, gray-brown haze that often hides the city’s skyline.

Changes in air quality will be monitored by experts from the city’s environmental protection bureau, which has 27 survey stations around Beijing and another 18 in Olympic venues.

According to officials the programme will take at least 20 days for results to be conclusive.

Foreign experts said the plan could still go wrong because unpredictable winds might blow pollution from other provinces into Beijing, or a lack of wind — common in August — could allow local pollution to build up.

The plan has also added pressure on the city’s transport system with the government estimating an extra 4 million commuters as a result of the car ban.

Beijing’s foul air is forcing many athletes to train outside the city, and International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge has said outdoor endurance events lasting more than an hour will be postponed if air quality is poor.

In addition to the traffic plan, chemical plants, power stations and foundries had to cut emissions by 30% beginning this week. Some 300,000 heavily polluting vehicles — aging industrial trucks, many of which run only at night — were banned as of 1st July.