Since he started his job at Ulan Bator's City Hall six months ago, Bat-Ochir Ganbagana has walked three kilometres each day to work.
From his flat in the southern outskirts of the Mongolian capital, he shuffles past long lines of traffic. The bus, he says, would take twice as long.
But public transport is starting to look more tempting as traffic is lighter this week, thanks to progressive new laws passed by the city government. Main boulevards once clogged with an assortment of Land Cruisers, Hummers and other vehicles are becoming easier to navigate.
At the heart of the improvement is a restriction on vehicle use in the city centre, based on licence plate numbers. The city is also requiring government workers to report to their offices using public transport. Traffic police are out in force to keep bus-only lanes free of vehicles.
"Every day more cars are added to the streets of Ulan Bator so something had to be done," said Ganbagana, a 22-year-old road engineer. "It's a good plan - we have a new mayor and he has brought new ideas."
That new mayor is Erdeni Bat-Uul, recently elected on a promise to clean up Ulan Bator's crippling infrastructure problems, starting with its traffic woes.