Now in Beijing: 4 Million Cars
北京汽车数量近400万 限行效果殆尽
Beijingers welcomed an easier and more stress-free car commute when the city government began implementing stringent traffic-reduction measures before the 2008 Summer Olympics. Post-Olympics, the government then told the city's drivers they would have to continue to leave their cars at home on a certain day of the week based on the last digit of their license plate number. The control took 20% of the cars off the roads daily since October last year, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.
去年奥运会之前，北京市政府宣布开始实施严格的道路限行措施时，北京民众对随之而来的更为便捷和顺畅的交通状况表示了欢迎。奥运会结束后，北京市政府下令维持每周少开一天车的限行要求，具体限行日期取决于他们车牌的最后一个数字。据新华社报道，这一控制措施使得去年10月以来北京的上路车辆每天减少了20%。
However, the city's traffic reduction measures apparently couldn't quite keep up with people's appetite for cars.
不过，北京缓解交通压力的措施似乎完全追不上民众的购车需求。
The number of new cars purchased every day in China's capital stands at about 2,000, Xinhua said Tuesday, citing the city's municipal traffic management bureau. The article said vehicles in Beijing will hit the 4 million mark this weekend, which means one in four of the city's 16 million permanent residents now has a car.
新华社周二援引北京市交管局的数据报导说，北京每天的新车购买量约为2,000辆。报导说，这个周末北京的机动车数量将达到400万辆，按照目前北京1600万常住人口计算，每四个人就有一个人拥有汽车。
No wonder the city seems even more choked with traffic these days.
难怪北京这些天的交通似乎更加拥堵了。
'The traffic jam was eased in the first several months after the car restriction measure took effect,' Xinhua quoted a taxi driver as saying. 'However, that sense of ease began to fade since the first half of this year.'
新华社援引一位出租车司机的话报导说，限行措施在最初的几个月的确起到了一定缓解交通的作用，然而从今年上半年开始，这种感受日渐消退。
Indeed, the number of major thoroughfares with traffic moving slower than 20 kilometers an hour has recently risen to 70 at the morning traffic peak, Xinhua said, citing the traffic bureau's command center. 'More than 90% of Beijing's roads were overloaded,' the news agency quoted Zhang Jingchun, director of the bureau's information office, as saying.
新华社援引北京交管局指挥中心的话报导说，早高峰期间时速低于20公里的主干线最近回升至70条以上。北京市交管局新闻办公室主任张景春说，北京现在9成以上的道路都是饱和或者超饱和。
People stuck in traffic in Beijing can partly blame China's central government's successful steering of the domestic economy after last year's global financial crisis. Stimulus measures, including tax cuts and other incentives to encourage auto purchases, have helped trigger a boom in auto sales even as other major markets around the world have sputtered. China's domestic vehicle sales were up about 50% in the year's first 11 months, and the country is on track to post total vehicle sales of more than 13 million vehicles this year, displacing the U.S. as the world's biggest auto market.
去年全球金融危机爆发之后，中国政府成功地引导着经济，这也是导致北京交通拥堵的原因之一。中国政府推出了包括削减汽车购置税和其他激励的刺激措施，鼓励民众购买汽车；受这些举措推动，在全球其他主要市场陷入困境之际，中国汽车销量出现了一波热潮。今年前11个月，中国国内汽车销量增长了约50%，今年中国汽车总销量有望突破1300万辆，取代美国成为全球最大的汽车市场。
To ease traffic, Beijing plans to expand its subway system to 273 kilometers by 2010 and to 561 kilometers by 2020, Xinhua said. By then, nearly 40% of residents are expected to choose to travel by bus and subway.
新华社报道说，为了缓解交通压力，北京计划到2010年将地铁线路总长扩大到273公里，到2020年提高到561公里。到那个时候，预计将近四成的北京居民都会选择坐公交车和地铁出行。
Maybe. But Beijing may need to look at more traffic restrictions unless it quickly and significantly improves and redesigns its transportation infrastructure. Either that or hope for economic slowdown.
或许吧。不过，除非北京能够迅速有效地改善和重新设计其交通基础设施，否则他们可能需要考虑更为严格的限行措施。要么采取这种措施，要么就会见到经济减速。
Norihiko Shirouzu
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