Advisers differ on solutions to reduce traffic in Beijing

Masses of vehicles move slowly on the road in Beijing, China, on May 6, 2011.[Photo/IC]

Tokyo, with less than five million cars in an area of more than 2,000 square kilometers, has a better traffic record than Beijing, which has six million cars in an area eight times bigger than Tokyo, added Shi.

"It's because of bad traffic management in Beijing," said Shi. "Limiting more cars and charging congestion fees may help a little in the begining, but it will be of little use when the numbers of cars keep growing."

He suggested the government should examine the causes of the worst-jammed road and come up with tailored solutions.

Earlier reports said the city is considering collecting congestion fees in certain downtown areas to reduce traffic. Similar measures have been used in other cities such as London.

But some advisers are also having a hard time agreeing on the idea.

"The congestion fee is not suitable for Beijing right now," said advisor Chen Xiaobing, He said the policy failed to touch the core problem, which is the lack of public transportation system.

"We have to be very cautious with lots of research and listening to voices from people," said Chen.