Beijing: The government plans to introduce GPS system to streamline vehicle movement in the Chinese capital after it suspended sale of new cars here to address traffic woes.
Next year, 12,000 drivers in the Wangjing area of Beijing will have their cars fitted with a free GPS device, operated by Beijing Palmcity Science and Technology Co, for the experiment, which will last until October, state-run China Daily reported today.
The new GPS system can show the quickest way to a destination.
"The traffic situation in the Wangjing area is like that in the rest of the city. The main arteries are usually clogged, but streets and feeder roads are usually not," Jia Tingting, the manager of a technology company who is in charge of the experimental programme.
"The situation can certainly improve if we can direct the traffic to less congested roads," Jia said. If the experiment proves successful, it will be expanded to other areas through government support and commercial involvement.
Beijing will spend 5.6 billion yuan (USD 884 million) in the next five years to further develop an intelligent transportation system to solve its traffic problems, Wang Gang, an official at the Beijing municipal commission of transport.
Already the government has suspended issuing number plates to buy new cars. The local government currently auctions only 20,000 number plates every month.
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