Beijing to allocate special fund for traffic relief
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Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport planed to allocate special fund to relieve traffic jam in busy downtown areas during the traffic peak, China Youth Daily reports on April 6.
The plan aims to make public traffic account for 40 percent of the total vehicles, allocating special fund for traffic relief and setting up a traffic evaluation system to monitor vehicle flows in congested areas and simultaneously update traffic reports for the public.
It is said that Beijing had continued 6 consecutive stages in its traffic relief in 2009. As with the public traffic reaching 4million, a net increase of 515,000 than 2008, the traffic in downtown areas was going smoothly, and the speed in the morning and evening peaks has grew 15.2 percent and 15.3 percent respectively compared that in 2007. The percentage of public transport among all vehicles has increased from 36.8 percent to 38.9 percent.
At present, the vehicles stand at 4.2 million, and the most effective way to ease traffic jams and reduce air pollution is to encourage more people to take public vehicles.
The plan includes building more subway lines and opening more express bus lanes this year. Now, 12 light-rail and subway lines are under construction, reaching 300 kilometers. Beijing will also open special bus lanes to 10 kilometers and building more junction center stations in populous regions. What's more, Beijing will protect some roads, and build auto-stations in pilot areas. Taxi waiting rooms under flyovers is to be built; bicycle and pedestrian street and blocks should be more widespread in major streets and historical and cultural conservation zones.
