2008 & Beyond: Beijing´s solutions to traffic jams

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The odd-even plan hasn't eliminated traffic jams because the Olympic lanes are adding to certain bottlenecks.

And the odd-even plan hasn't eliminated traffic jams because the Olympic lanes are adding to certain bottlenecks.

Sometimes it still looks like a giant car park.

An expert on transportation engineering says the Olympic traffic controls are just a temporary solution.

Professor Yang Xinmiao, Tsinghua University said "We could not build congestion, building roads out of congestion, that means you build more roads, you attract more people to use cars, and you have more congestion, it's a bad circle. "

For the long term, Yang Xinmiao says the city needs to make better use of land, reducing the the distance between workplace and home.

And managing the 20,000 public buses now on the road is already a monumental task. At the Beijing Public Transport Center, staff use GPS to keep the buses moving. The head of the Center says scientific management is necessary to coordinate a fast, effective and orderly transport system.

Feng Xingfu, Vice Managing Director of Beijing Public Transport Holdings said "We should give priority to public transportation, as the speed of road construction can never catch up with the increase in number of vehicles. Encouraging people to use public transport is the only solution to improving the traffic situation in Beijing."

The Olympics has pushed the city to upgrade its facilities and improve the traffic system. But the government knows it's just the start.

"Like it or not, Beijing's odd-even traffic restrictions will help the city to cope with the busy Olympic traffic. Fewer vehicles can reduce pollution and save energy. But when the Games are over, keeping the traffic flow manageable will still be an urgent task for the government."

Editor:Xiong Qu