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Around 150,000 residents in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, started work half an hour later Monday, as the city adjusted work hours in a bid to ease traffic congestion.<br/><br/>Municipal and district-level government workers along with public-sector agencies, excluding kindergartens, schools and hospitals, worked from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, after working from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. previously.<br/><br/>The change in working hours comes as more Chinese cities struggle with worsening congestion in the wake of rapid increases in car ownership.<br/><br/>China surpassed the United States as the world's largest auto market last year, with sales exceeding 13.6 million units, as the government cut taxes and offered subsidies.<br/><br/>In Shenyang, 679 new vehicles were registered per day during the first two weeks of May, compared to 551 per day in 2009, said Gao Hong, deputy director of the municipal transport bureau.<br/><br/>"It takes me almost 40 minutes to drive just 8 km in the morning rush hour," said Liu Yu, a government worker. "Traffic jams are a real headache for me."<br/><br/>Beijing and several other cities have taken similar measures to alleviate traffic jams.<br/><br/>In mid-April, Beijing adjusted working hours for 800,000 public-sector workers. It also has doubled daytime parking fees in downtown areas and prolonged car use restrictions that ban motorists from driving one day every week.<br/><br/>The northeastern cities of Dalian and Changchun also have changed work hours for public-sector workers.<br/><br/>"If buses are crowded and also time-consuming, people will prefer to drive a car, as it is more convenient for picking up kids and getting around," Liu said.<br/><br/>"Working hours adjustment and car use restrictions are only emergency measures. The long-term solution lies in the improvement of public transport services," said Xiao Xingzhi, a professor at Dongbei University of Finance and Economics.<br/><br/>The explosive growth in car ownership and increasingly crowded streets have forced many cities to spend more on public transport facilities.<br/><br/>"The subway is a very effective way to ease traffic jams," Xiao said.<br/><br/>Shenyang this year will be the first city in northeast China to have subway services.<br/><br/>Many Chinese cities have invested in building subways as traffic congestion has become a major issue for residents.<br/><br/>Beijing plans to have 561.5 km of rail transit lines in operation by 2020. Shanghai has an even more ambitious plan: 970 km of rail transit lines by 2020.<br/><br/>"A combination of subway, light rail and overpasses may be the long-term solution for city traffic congestion," said Xu Yunfei, a researcher at the Shandong Provincial Academy of Transport Science. <br/> |
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发表于 2010-5-25 23:27:00
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