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Beijing mulls traffic ban for winter heating season

Xinhua, January 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Beijing is studying the feasibility of further traffic bans to curb smog, officials said during the capital's annual Two Sessions, the plenary sessions of People's Congress and Political Consultative Conference, on Thursday.

Current traffic rules, based on license plate numbers, take about one-fifth of the vehicles off the roads each weekday. Beijing enforces odd-even plate number restrictions during severe smog and also for big international events such as the Olympics in 2008 and the APEC summit in 2014.

"We are looking into the possibility of halving traffic during the winter heating season," said Li Shixiang, vice mayor of Beijing.

Beijing wants to improve its smog warning mechanism and refine traffic restriction measures to make them more effective, according to Rong Jun, Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission spokesperson.

There are 5.6 million Beijing-registered vehicles. The winter heating season usually lasts from mid-November to mid-March. Endi