More park-and-ride lots needed to ease congestion

More park-and-ride lots should be built to encourage the use of public transportation and reduce congestion in Beijing, experts said.

Park-and-ride lots are car parks that are connected to public transportation, and they play an important role in urban traffic management, said Wang Limei, secretary-general of the China Road Transport Association.

But Beijing had only 28 lots providing 4,464 parking bays near major subway and bus stations as of August, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport. Most of these lots are close to subway stations in Beijing's suburbs.

"They are far from enough," Wang said.

According to the commission, a plan to build two more lots providing more than 1,000 car bays has been approved.

Park-and-ride facilities were first built several decades ago in foreign countries, but they are new in China.

Beijing is promoting use of the facilities by keeping charges low.

Government subsidies have reduced the cost of parking a car until midnight to only 2 yuan (32 US cents) at these park-and-ride lots, according to a regulation by Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform.

Parking a car costs at least 5 yuan an hour in most urban areas of Beijing.

The number of cars on Beijing's streets has exceeded 5 million, making it one of the most congested cities in China.

The government has introduced a number of measures to reduce congestion in recent years, such as a number plate lottery system that puts a monthly cap of 20,000 on new car ownership. Other measures that are being considered include congestion fees.

"The roads are simply too congested during peak hours. Besides, I am not familiar with the roads in Beijing," Wang Yingqi said after parking her car in a park-and-ride lot next to the Tiantongyuan subway station in northern Beijing's suburban Changping district.

Wang lives in the district and said she usually drives half an hour to the lot, and then rides the subway for an hour to get to work.

"The subway is fast and punctual," she said, adding that she is happy with the 2 yuan parking fee.

"But sometimes the lot is too crowded and I cannot find a space if I come a little late," she said.

The parking lot provides 436 bays, according to operator Beijing Gonglian Co, and they are so popular that almost all of them are occupied by 9 am.

Land shortage is a major problem that hinders the development of more park-and-ride lots, according to Chen Yanyan, a professor at Beijing University of Technology's Transport Research Center.

"To cope with the problem, subway developers are now including land for park-and-ride lots in their plans before constructing a new line," she said.

To encourage the use of public transportation, Beijing has put thousands of bikes up for public rental near many subway stations. The number of bikes available for lease is expected to reach 50,000 in the next few years.

The service, which was initially open only to permanent residents of Beijing when introduced in June, has now been opened to all residents, including foreigners with valid passports, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport announced in October.

In 2011, an average of 19.6 million trips were made on the city's public transport every day, accounting for 42 percent of all travel, according to the commission.