(Beijing) – The government of the capital is considering taking half of the city's private cars off the road for the rest of the winter in a bid to end the severe bouts of smog that have recently plagued the city, several people close to the matter say.
The city's Communist Party leaders and transport officials have held meetings recently to discuss the idea of keeping half of Beijing's cars off the streets on a given day depending on whether their license plates end with even or odd numbers, the sources said.
The idea is similar to one used to keep the capital's skies clear during major events and periods of bad air pollution, such as a meeting of APEC leaders in late 2014, a military parade in September and when air pollution is bad for three straight days. It would be in place until heating for residential and office buildings is turned off in mid-March.
Wang Limei, vice president of the China Road Transport Association, an organization for transport companies, said the government must back any decision up with scientific data.
"How long should the new policy last? How restrictive will it be?" she said. "The government should conduct research and collect data to answer these questions before acting."
The capital has suffered with terrible bouts of smog even by its low standards this winter. On November 30, levels of PM2.5 – small, cancer-causing particles in the air – soared to 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter. The World Health Organization says anything above 25 is unhealthy.
City officials then declared a red alert for air pollution on December 7 because the air quality index was expected to rise over 200 – meaning the air was officially heavily polluted – for the next three days. This alert required half of cars to stay off the road, schools had to close, work at construction projects had to halt, and factories had to shut or slow production.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection recently said the capital's air pollution problems are related to car use. On December 2, it cited a report by the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences that blamed Beijing's smog on nitrogen oxides from car emissions, which it said accounted for 40 percent of the pollutants.
In other regions of northern China, burning coal to heat homes and offices in winter is the main culprit of pollution, the ministry said. Many cities north of the Yangtze River provide heating for homes and offices over the winter, something the public pays for as a utility.
Beijing had 5 million cars on its roads in 2012, the latest official data show, and will have more than 6 million this year.
（Source:Caixin Online）
