Beijing Tackles Olympic Traffic Problem

For the last four days, millions of drivers in Beijing have not been allowed on the roads.

It's all part of a traffic control experiment to ease the city's growing congestion and pollution problems ahead of next year's Olympic games.

Beijing's streets are bustling with bicycles, buses, taxis, and trucks. Every day city drivers register about twelve hundred new cars, and this number keeps growing.

Most residents view new cars as a sign of status and wealth, and part of the city's amazing economic growth.

"It's a good development. It's a reflection of our country's development. We have more cars," Beijing resident Xiao Qiang said.

"A few years ago, people didn't think about having a car, but now every family, every people dream to have a car," said Dr. He Dongquan of the China Sustainable Transportation Center.

But while the number of drivers continues to gain steam, Beijing's traffic has slowed to a halt.

The number of cars in Beijing has tripled from only one million to three million in just nine years. But new roads aren't as plentiful as new cars, so traffic jams are a major problem for residents.

Beijing resident Wang Jia Yang said, "We have more and more new cars, but the roads are still narrow."

It's not just the traffic that's bad, but pollution as well.

"The more developed we are in material, the worse we are mentally. Why? That would be great if every person owns a car, but who will breathe the polluted air? Human beings," resident Wang Changlin said.

For many Beijing residents, solving the city's traffic and pollution problems are more than a small inconvenience. They're a matter of national pride. With the Olympics only a year away, government leaders and ordinary citizens are working hard to reduce pollution.

Changlin said, "As the slogan on my tricycle says, 'Everybody should do something for the Olympics.' In the Olympic season, we can use bicycles, take buses or even just stay at home instead of driving. Thus, traffic would not get worse."

Over the past three years, Beijing has invested $12 billion in public transportation and infrastructure. The government is also working to improve fuel standards and cut pollution.

Reducing traffic and pollution will be an Olympic-sized task, even after Beijing passes the torch on its hosting duties. But while residents are eager to clean up the city, they're even more thrilled to be driving new cars.