Massive car cap takes effect
- Source: Global Times
- [08:08 December 24 2010]
- Comments
A traffic jam paralyzes Beijing's Third Ring Road on Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua
By Song Shengxia and Huang Shaojie
Beijing Thursday announced an annual cap on new automobile registration, starting next year, as part of a tough set of measures to tackle the city's notorious traffic gridlock, setting off a last-minute, car-buying spree last night.
Under the new regulations, vehicles purchased starting today will be subject to the strict new restrictions.
The city will license only 240,000 new vehicles next year, and buyers of new cars will have to apply for license plates by means of a lottery, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport (BMCT) said at a press briefing Thursday.
The annual quota, which is just a third of the 700,000 new cars that have hit Beijing roads this year, will be distributed among first-time private buyers and fleet buyers, with private car buyers to receive 88 percent of the quota.
Only permanent residents of Beijing, as well as those serving in the police and military, are eligible to apply for license plates.
Cars not licensed in Beijing will be barred from entering the main city area during rush hours on work days.
Parking times inside the 5th Ring Road will be charged per 15 minutes rather than per 30 minutes, while parking fees in the city will be from 2 yuan to 10 yuan per hour.
Other measures include building more roads and car parts and limiting the use of government cars.
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said Thursday online that the new restrictions are unfair to future car owners, adding that the limit on auto purchases will have a negative impact on the general economy in China.
Su Hui, a senior auto market analyst with the China Automobile Dealers Association, said the new policy will deal a huge blow to the auto industry and reduce the sales volume in Beijing by more than 70 percent next year.
"About 20,000 auto agents and employees, half of the total in the city, will be forced to find new jobs. What's more, the Beijing model is likely to be followed in other cities, thus bringing destructive damage to the auto industry," he said.
Shi Yu is one of the many who became a car owner earlier this month after she heard rumors about a pending traffic-control policy.
She told the Global Times that she felt lucky to have gotten her car before the policy went into effect.
