Beijing: one out of every 10 people owns a car
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-01-29 11:25

Beijing had 1.54 million private cars at the end of 2005, which meant one out of every 10 Beijingers owns a car, the city's statistical bureau said.

At the end of 2005, Beijing had 15.38 million permanent residents.

In the meantime, its total number of private cars climbed 18.7 percent over the 2004 figure, the municipal bureau of statistics said in a latest report on the city's economic growth.

It said Beijing's total number of civil vehicles reached 2.146 million last year, including 1.308 million sedan cars.

These were up 14.7 percent and 19.3 percent respectively over the 2004 volumes and were 1.1 times and 1.7 times over the 2000 figures, it said.

Industry insiders predicted China's car ownership had topped 30 million units by the end of 2005, thanks to the country's fast-growing auto industry.

what's so good abt it?

Good or bad, but traffic jam is really a big problem in Beijing right now, pretty controversy!


http://graphics7.nytimes.com/images/2003/11/18/business/18AUTO.xl.jpg

Photo Source: New York Times


http://images6.theimagehosting.com/Beijing Traffic2.jpg

Traffic congestion on Beijing's third ring road is shown in this October 22, 2003 file photo. [newsphoto]

I'll take the subway thank you. :cheers:

So what are they doing to handle the traffic?? One out of every 10 is a pretty low number so that traffic is only going to get worse.

i bike moves faster than a car in Beijing

i bike moves faster than a car in Beijing
OMG That is so ironic... :rofl:

I just visited Beijing... traffic there is unbelievable, you must see it to believe it.

I just love it when Chang'an Road is jammed, all 16 lanes of it.

So what are they doing to handle the traffic?? One out of every 10 is a pretty low number so that traffic is only going to get worse.

Its not a low number consider the population of Beijing. This statistic only count for private ownership and if you include taxis and other public transport all on the road its hell.

Thats pretty ridicoulous if they can't afford cars and they're getting the olympics!

Thats pretty ridicoulous if they can't afford cars and they're getting the olympics!
:crazy:

What do car ownership, affordability, and the Olympics have to do with each other?

I presume that Beijing, like Shanghai, is agressively planning to massively expand its public transportation network as to minimize the necessity of owning a car to get around. I wish cities in my country would do that. :(

Thats pretty ridicoulous if they can't afford cars and they're getting the olympics!

Such a ignorant comment! :bash:
China is the 2nd largest car market in the world now and they sure can afford cars. Besides getting the olympics has nothing to do with cars! They're getting the Olympics because they have the financial backup and the ability to host one. What do you think Beijing or Beijingers are dude? Still living in huts or caves and riding on horses?

I'll take the subway thank you. :cheers:

But the problem is there are NOT enough metro lines in Beijing! Many of the lines are still UNDER CONSTRUCTION! Check this on Urbanrail.net (http://urbanrail.net/as/beij/beijing.htm)! :ohno: :ohno: :ohno:

if the gov not hold ! the car must more

I think one of reasons why Chinese cities have terrible traffic is that most Chinese drivers are stupid.

seriously, if ownership continues to rise, will the government put an end to it or discourage car ownership?

seriously, if ownership continues to rise, will the government put an end to it or discourage car ownership?
I don't know much about Beijing - nobody I know owns a car there. But here in Shanghai the registration fee costs nearly as much as a low-end compact car. Can you imagine shelling out (equivalent to) $10,000 for your annual inspection? Also, the government has enacted fuel-efficiency standards more stringent than in America. Although enforcement is always patchy at start, this may help tighten the automotive market.
I just visited Beijing... traffic there is unbelievable, you must see it to believe it.
Pssh, it has nothing on Shanghai. I'm always more impressed when double-decker freeways jam up. ;)

too many car bring too much pollution. Subway net is always the best way fpr people in the mega city like Beijing. You can have car but do not need drive it for work everyday (save time and money). To build nice and comfortable subway is better.

Hong Kong has about 5% private car ownership, so that must mean people there are twice as worse off as the people in Beijing? lol. The question for China isn't whether people can afford cars; it's all about how the cities can handle traffic by discouraging private car usage and building good mass-transportation systems.

A car-dependent country such as the United States is the biggest per-capita waste of money and generation of pollution caused by transportation. I wish China would not follow this mistake.

A Country's further development MUST come out from more Public Transport to the public. The Gov't MUST put emphasis on the Public Transport instead of the Private Transport!!! :speech:

Hong Kong has about 5% private car ownership, so that must mean people there are twice as worse off as the people in Beijing? lol. The question for China isn't whether people can afford cars; it's all about how the cities can handle traffic by discouraging private car usage and building good mass-transportation systems.

A car-dependent country such as the United States is the biggest per-capita waste of money and generation of pollution caused by transportation. I wish China would not follow this mistake.
They can't follow much more: urban road networks are already breaking at the seams, and can no longer be expanded. Beijing is much less dense than Shanghai; it should model its mass transit after Moscow's, where sparce metro stations are well-served by connecting buses.

Some of you guys misunderstand Mr. Cetrepoint's comment.
What does he mean is it is true that the car ownership in Beijing is of course increasing fast, otherwise how come that Beijing can host the Olympic games. The problem is does the government and citizens want to let the increase of the private car ownership to be the reason for Beijing's traffic jam or they will choose the Metro as the daily commuting method? The subway system does really not match Beijing's huge scale so far, glad to see the more lines are under construction.