Friday, March 22, 2013

License plate restrictions in China to reduce air pollution


License plate restrictions in China to reduce air pollution

China is still in struggle to reduce the amount of air pollution caused by traffic congestion.  This week’s article is about reducing the number of license plates auctioned in order to reduce the amount of cars on the road.  License plate rationing was put into place in order to control and reduce traffic congestion.  The prices of license plates can be very high, with some going for as much as a cheap Chinese car.  This month’s auction contained 9,000 plates, with a cost of nearly $14,500. 
This high price will keep most of the population from gaining a license plate.  Chinese people are saying the time is now to get a license plate, because the price just keeps rising.  Several cities in China are considering ways to reduce air pollution, which include congestion fees, auctions or plate lotteries.  Limited license plates will reduce the number of cars on the road, and will contribute to fixing the terrible air quality in China. 
The root of this traffic congestion problem comes from weak enforcement of traffic laws, lack of parking, and inconvenient public transportation.  Even with Tokyo and New York having more cars per capita than Beijing, this city still has way more traffic congestion.
Reducing traffic congestion in busy cities will greatly help the air quality in China.  If people are limited from buying a license plate, wither because of the high price of the unavailability, there will be less acrs on the road, which contributes to less air pollution.  Peoples cars isn’t the only factor that contributes to the poor air quality.  Public transportation and poor city planning also affect the air quality of China.  If measures aren’t taken to better these factors, the air quality will continue to diminish.   

Carly Taylor
March 22, 2013  4:55 pm

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