Advice to reduce traffic jams

1. Carpool

Tang Jun, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the government should use administrative means to encourage people to carpool, thereby reducing emissions and easing road congestion.

Although officials emphasize that there are no current laws in China regarding carpooling and that it can be unsafe if one travels with unfamiliar people, private car owner Mr. Wu said, "I have signed an agreement with other people to share one car. It is safe and convenient."

According to lawyer Liu Lin, if people sign an agreement, it holds the same power as a law, provided that it doesn't violate the existing legal provisions.

2. Assign more variable lanes to ease tides of congestion

As Beijing suburbs continue to grow, a traffic phenomenon similar to a tide swell occurs – people living in the suburbs drive into the city during the morning rush hour and return to the suburbs in the evening, causing some traffic routes to swell with congestion.

Tsinghua University Professor Shi Qixin said, "To ease the tide-style congestion, the local government can assign more variable lanes – the direction of traffic for each lane can be adjusted. For example, a certain lane is special for entering into the city in the morning rush hour, and in the evening it becomes a lane for heading out of the city."

Professor Shi also advised that the traffic authorities put up warning signs to inform drivers ahead of time that they will need to merge lanes, thereby preventing potential traffic safety issues.

3. Encourage people to take public transportation

"The key point to easing road congestion in Beijing is to encourage people to take public transportation," Rong Jian said. "If people still insist on driving their private cars, the road congestion will not have any change at all, even if more roads are constructed or widened."

According to Rong Jian, the Beijing Traffic Committee is discussing ways to promote public transportation, such as increasing parking fees in the city center and reducing public transportation fees when traveling from Beijing's outskirts. Currently, several subways are under construction in Beijing. With the improved subway routes and new fee regulations, the committee hopes the traffic congestion problems will be resolved.

(China.org.cn by Ma Yujia May 31, 2009)