Beijing to continue car plates lottery policy

The policy controlling applications for car registration plates by lottery will continue in Beijing in 2013.

Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport said on Thursday the policy has helped curb the increasing number of private cars on the capital's roads but has not eased traffic jams in downtowns areas.

The authorities said they are studying specific measures to regulate and control traffic problems and will disclose these as soon as possible, China News Service reported.

The capital has conducted the lottery 23 times since 2011, issuing 441,195 new car plates.

At the end of November, the number of vehicles in Beijing stood at 5.189 million, 206,000 more than the number at the end of last year. The city saw an increase of 173,000 vehicles in 2011.