Public transport key to easing Beijing traffic

Affordable buses and expanded subway services, not a clampdown on car use, are the key to cutting congestion in Beijing ahead of the 2008 Olympics, city Mayor Wang Qishan said. The capitals roads are already overflowing with two million cars and the city population is growing by 400,000 a year, but Wang was undeterred. "There will be no problem with the Olympic traffic," he said, pointing to the planned introduction of new bus lanes as well as a further 115 kilometers of urban rail. Wang is against restricting car use as he sees vehicle ownership as fundamental to rising personal consumption in the country. He also admitted that corruption linked to Olympic developments, such as the one that led to the downfall of the city's vice mayor, were a hindrance to China's rapid growth.