Guangzhou limiting non-local vehicles to ease congestion

GUANGZHOU - The southern Chinese megacity of Guangzhou is set to put restrictions on vehicles registered outside of the city in a bid to ease congestion.

An official with the city's traffic committee said at a press conference on Friday that a preliminary program has been drafted to keep a certain number of out-of-town vehicles off the city's roads.

The program will be released to the public for comments before being implemented, said the official.

Details of the program were not disclosed at the press conference.

Traffic jams in Guangzhou have worsened recently. Average rush hour speeds have slowed to 20 km per hour, and are expected to become even slower. Increasing motor vehicle emissions have also worsened the city's air quality.

Last year, the city announced that it would allocate the city's annual 120,000 new car registration quota through a dual auction-lottery model, forcing many residents to register their vehicles elsewhere.