Beijing works on Olympic traffic problem

Creation date: 14 August 2007

With the one-year countdown to the Olympic Games about to start, a potential problem has just become bigger: Beijing's traffic. CCTV reporter Xu Zhaoqun takes a look at what city officials are doing to address the problem.

A world-class city with a world-class traffic problem

For many of Beijing's 13 million residents, getting to work in the morning is nothing short of a heroic struggle. If it's so hard for residents who know their way around the city, it might be harder for visitors coming here for the first time to attend the Olympics.

The municipal government is working overtime to deal with the problem. For starters, they have added three thousand more environmental friendly buses to the city's fleet. To get more people to use public transport, they have also lowered the bus fare. Beijing resident, said, "Generally speaking, traveling by bus is the most convenient way for me to travel."

During the 2008 Games, the city also plans to use Olympic-only bus lanes to facilitate traffic flow. Proposals to restrict the number of passenger cars are also being considered.

Hern Verbruggen, President IOC Coordination Commission, said, "Traffic is always a constrain, and certainly no one can handle it in a normal way." In addition, Beijing intends to open new subway lines taking the subway network to 200 kilometers. That's expected to help reduce road traffic. New roads will also be opened, and parking areas will be increased.  Wang Wei, BOCOG vice executive president, said, "The government alone cannot ensure the efficiency of the measures being taken. Our citizens, too, must do their part."

The government is hoping its 13 billion US dollar investment in public transport will ease congestion during the Games. Hern Verbruggen said, "we are here to cooperate with BOCOG, we are confident that we can handle it." Beijing's traffic has become a big headache for residents and the government. Measures are being taken to cure this headache and those improvements can be seen. But when there is heavy rain, all those efforts seem in vain. Traffic management will have to increase in addition to praying for less rain during this time of the year.

Source: CCTV News