Beijing traffic saw radical increase yesterday, the first day after the
city's two-month alternating odd-even license plate system for the Olympic Games
ended.
The 3.4 million automobiles and five million drivers in Beijing could put
Beijing in serious traffic conditions in the "post-Olympic times", even more
serious than before, said Zhang Jingchun, spokesman of the Traffic Management
Bureau.
The city would see more challenge after the end of the "odd-even" system
which took effective on July 20 and aimed at cut air pollution and jammed
traffic during the Games, Zhang said.
The reopen of the accesses to Beijing for vehicles from other provinces would
also make the highways, national ways, Fifth and Sixth Ring Road to face traffic
jams, he said.
The seven-day-holiday of the National Day might draw an influx of visitors to
scenic spots and shopping centers, while the bad weather would also influence
the traffic, he added.
Thirty-eight new measures will be taken by the municipal administrations,
including an emergency plan for the first rush hours on Monday.
"High-tech measures, including TV monitoring and flexible time control of
traffic lights, will continue to be adopted as they have been effective during
the Olympics," Zhang said.
The cooperation between traffic administrations and other related offices
such as observatory and environmental sanitation administrations would be
continued in the post-Olympic times, he said.