BEIJING — Liu Ming, a 28-year-old sales executive, usually leaves his west Beijing home in his little red Toyota at 6:30 a.m. to avoid the worst of Beijing's rush-hour traffic. Even so, his 22-mile cross-town commute usually takes about an hour.
On Friday, however, Liu was able to sleep in a little. The government had ordered his car off the street because it has a license plate ending with an even number, part of a four-day test aimed at bringing down air pollution and traffic congestion.
The test, which runs through Monday, is aimed at convincing international Olympic officials that the Chinese capital can clean up its skies by this time next year, when the Summer Games come to Beijing.
For Liu, it meant his trip to his job at a website for Chinese job seekers took a bit longer, nearly an hour and a half on the subway. But he was able to leave home at a more leisurely 9:30 a.m. Many businesses changed their hours to accommodate employees and customers.
That was not Liu's main reason for supporting the car ban, however. It allowed him to do his part to alleviate smog, he said.
"It's also good for my health," he laughed sheepishly. "I've gained a few pounds by driving everywhere."
According to government statistics, Beijing now has a bit more than 3 million registered vehicles, which pump out an estimated 1.3 million tons of pollutants every year. Local environmental officials cite this as the primary reason behind the city's ever-worsening air quality and the persistent haze that hovers over the skyline.
In a country that was known just a decade ago as the "kingdom of bikes," the number of cars hitting the road continues to skyrocket. The China Automotive Industry Assn. reported last week that nationwide, domestic auto sales through July had already topped 3.5 million this year, a 24% increase over the same period last year.
An estimated 1,000 new cars are added to Beijing's roads daily, a rate that has raised concerns from Olympic officials that traffic and pollution, if not curbed, could force outdoor endurance sports, such as long-distance cycling races, to be postponed or rescheduled.
Hence the temporary car ban, which prohibits vehicles from the road on alternating days, depending on whether their license plates are odd- or even-numbered.
Friday was the first day off for even-numbered vehicles; today will be the first for odds.
