Beijing Numberplate Changes Announced

Beijing will implement a new variation on its odd-and-even license plate numbers rule from October 10.

Under the new scheme, car owners whose license plate number ends with a 1 or 6 are not allowed to drive on Wednesdays.

If the number ends in 2 or 7, owners cannot drive on Thursdays; 3 or 8 are prohibited on Fridays; 4 or 9 on Mondays; and 5 or 0 on Tuesdays. Weekends are exempt, Beijing News reported yesterday.

The rule will take effect until January 8.

This policy, first introduced last year to reduce gridlock and pollution, initially ruled that vehicles registered in Beijing could only take to the roads on alternate days, depending on whether their license plates ended in odd or even numbers.

Taxis, ambulances, mail vans, and other public vehicles are exempt from the rule.

The military forces and the government have also been cutting down on their vehicle use inside Beijing.

As compensation, auto owners affected by the new rules are given three months’ exemption from auto tax.

Beijing currently has 4.4 million vehicles on its roads, and will see 3 million more by 2015, authorities said in their latest report.