Once known as the “bicycle kingdom”, Beijing now faces a sprawling, congested, and smog filled future, as bicycle use declines and car ownership drastically increases. Just decades ago, Beijing’s cycling rate surpassed an astounding 60%, yet today the number has fallen sharply to around 20%. Cars are replacing bicycles at an alarming speed, and 1,500 new automobiles are added to Beijing’s roads each day. Fortunately, a variety of new policies are being implemented which aim to reduce the number of automobiles in Beijing while increasing trips made by more sustainable modes of transportation.
Perhaps one of the most effective ways in addressing Beijing’s rising automobile fleet has been a variety of vehicle controls. The license plate-based even-odd traffic regulations policy places a ban on vehicles according to even and odd numbered license plates on alternate days. This means car owners can only drive on alternate days, and since 2008, 930,000 cars have been banned from driving each day. A license plate lottery system has been implemented to reduce new car registrations, and the policy led to a 59.1% decrease in new vehicles purchased. In addition, parking prices in non-residential areas have increased, resulting in a reduction of trips taken by automobile.
Public transportation will also play a key role in encouraging Beijing residents to drive less. The city has a goal of increasing the public transit modal share to 50% by 2015. In order to reach this goal, the Beijing municipal government has said it would build 500 kilometers of subway lines over the next 5 years, building upon the existing 14 transit lines.
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| Beijing bikers, photo by John Williams |
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