Keep Those Traffic Restrictions!
I know. I’m biased. I bike. I live by a subway. I like to breathe clean air. So call me selfish, but these Olympic traffic restrictions should remain in place–indefinitely. The two that I’m referring to are the odd/even licenses and the ban on the filthy trucks that normally swarm the city at nights.
While it’s probably true that the restrictions only have a small amount to do with the recent relatively blue skies, they (a) contribute and (b) will play a bigger role over time (particularly the trucj restrictions). Futhermore, it discourages car buying, and with the increased number of subway lines, some people only need a little more incentive to skip that car purchase and hop on the ole mass transit (24-hour subway service would help too).
And there are indications that a continuation of the odd/even scheme, if not the ban on the more problematic night trucks, is being seriously considered. This from the China Daily last week:
56 percent of the more than 10,000 people surveyed online said they were in favor of continuing the restrictions.
Wang Li, deputy director of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, was quoted as saying by state media on Aug. 23 that there had not been a decision over whether to continue the policy.
But an editorial last week in the Beijing News daily newspaper said a continuation of the policy faced many challenges, especially from car owners and government officials reluctant to give up their freedom to drive.
So it looks like the papers are, at the very least, trying to float the idea out there, if not outright push it. We’ll see how it works out, but an extension of the ban, which would show that the government is serious about solving the pollution problem and not simply put on a good face to the world, would be a good first step to tackling Beijing’s worst problem.
jch responds:
Posted: September 12th, 2008 at 2:32 pm →
The best argument against keeping the restrictions is that the rich Chinese will just buy two cars w/ different license plates. Though, as a rider of buses and biker, i agree – the less cars the better. If only we could keep the clear skies…
chriswaugh_bj responds:
Posted: September 13th, 2008 at 11:24 am →
I’m with you on this. Keep the traffic restrictions, definitely. Owning a car does not give you some kind of God-given right to fuck up everybody’s air.
jch- that’s already possible. Just before the Olympics it was announced car buyers would be able to book licence plate numbers, allowing them to buy a second car to beat the restrictions. But I suspect the number of those who can afford a second car (remember, you’ve got to pay registration, petrol, maintenance, parking….. ) is rather small. So hopefully keeping the restrictions while expanding public transport will encourage more people onto bikes, buses or subway.
Oh, there was an article the other day about extending subway hours, but I didn’t get time to read it.
Nick responds:
Posted: September 13th, 2008 at 11:31 pm →
On the topic of truck restrictions, forcing those rickety, dirty, blue soot-mobiles off the road will be a good thing, but without regulatory pressure businesses will always opt for the dirty cheap option for moving their goods rather than upgrading their fleets. Bottom line is, we still need to move our crap around.