Challenges of Car Traffic in Beijing

Evaluation and Conclusion
Definitely the planned improvements are a step in the right direction. The idea to convince people to make better use of public transport is absolutely a necessity. But one has to wait and see how the implementation in this and other matters works. And when people are expected to go public, it will only work when the pertinent facilities are available. Just one figure: the expected length of the subway system in 2008 with 140km will still be slightly less than that one of Berlin with 144km - but Berlin only has four million people!
What is still not to be seen is a kind of well-planned master plan for the development of the city, with traffic being one of the components. From time to time one reads about international tenders to provide concepts for this kind of masterplan, but then suddenly silence prevails again and the public is left in the dark what decisions actually have been made and how their implementation will be safeguarded.
The conclusion therefore cannot be but: Beijing's traffic problems will still become worse before hopefully strong decision making will be inevitable to improve the situation fundamentally.
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