No. of autos in Beijing surges by 345,000 in first half, traffic worsens

Motor vehicles in Beijing surged by 345,000 in the first half of this year, which is greater than the total number of motor vehicles in Shi Jiazhuang, capital of north China's Heibei province, according to the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communication on July 20.

Beijing Times reports this on July 21.

At the first half of this year, autos saw a monthly increase of 57,500 and grew 345,000 in the first six months. Beijing now has a total of nearly 4.4 million motor vehicles.

Due to the rising number of autos, traffic in the city is getting worse. The average speed on the road network is 24.2 kilometers and 22 kilometers during the rush hours in the morning and evening, respectively, dropping 3.6 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively, compared to the same period of last year.

By Liang Jun, People's Daily Online