Beijing to impose odd-even car ban to combat serious air pollution
Beijing local authorities plan to implement a scheme preventing drivers with odd numbered plates from driving on alternate days
Beijing drivers will soon be restricted to using their cars every other day during periods of heavy pollution, Chinese state media reported on Thursday.
The capital is regularly hit by extended bouts of choking, acrid smog, with heavy industries and car use both among the key culprits.
Under the scheme cars with odd and even licence plates will be banned from the city’s roads on alternate days whenever serious air pollution persists for three consecutive days, Xinhua said.
The plan was approved on Wednesday and is set to be implemented by Beijing city authorities, the official news agency reported.
More than a quarter of Beijing’s 20 million people own a car, according to the state-run China Daily newspaper.
Residents have greeted previous odd-even car bans with mixed reactions, with some arguing that the measure should be made permanent and others contending the city’s public transportation infrastructure is insufficient to make up for the increase in use brought about by the ban.