Beijing officials say Olympic car ban trial improved air quality

Government officials in Beijing claimed success Tuesday in a four-day trial to see if sweeping traffic restrictions could improve the city's air quality ahead of next year's Olympics.

Scientists said that banning more than a million cars a day from the Chinese capital's streets from last Friday to Monday led to a 15 to 20 percent fall in the level of air pollutants.

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, admitted during a visit to Beijing earlier month that some outdoor endurance events might have to switch days if the city's air quality is unimproved by the time the games start next August.

And some Olympic teams are also advising their athletes to arrive for the games late, fearing high pollution levels may harm their fitness.

But city officials told reporters at a press conference Tuesday they are confident traffic restrictions and other measures will solve the problem.

Du Shaozhong, Beijing's head of environmental protection, said, ''The tests have made it very clear that we are able and capable of providing good air quality by the time of the 2008 Olympic Games.''

Liu Xiaoming, a senior official with Beijing's transport department, said his staff was also pleased with the results of the trial.

''After the tests, the environmental quality of the city was improved and it has helped us make Beijing an environmentally friendly city. We will now study the results of the tests and they will help us plan future measures,'' he said.

During the four-day traffic restrictions, cars with odd-numbered plates were banned from the road Saturday and Monday while even-number plate cars could not be driven Friday and Sunday.

About 6,500 police officers enforced the restrictions, although officials say only a fraction of 1 percent of drivers attempted to ignore the ban and drive on the wrong days.

Officials also say the restrictions led to a significant fall in traffic congestion.

Other measures underway to try to improve Beijing's air quality include moving heavy industry out of the city and planting trees around the Chinese capital to stop dust storms blowing in from China's arid northeast.

The United Nations says 16 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in China.

Beijing is still frequently enveloped in a brown haze and a report published by the Health Ministry earlier this year warned that air pollution, along with pesticides and the use of food additives, is contributing to a significant increase in the cases of cancer in China.

Three million cars are registered to use Beijing's roads and that figure is increasing by about 1,000 a day.