More than 400,000 private car owners opted not to drive during the six days around the Forum of China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC), making the roads flow so smoothly that similar efforts may be adopted during the 2008 Olympic Games.

According to figures released at a press conference yesterday, special measures took 30 percent, or 800,000, of the capital's 2.82 million vehicles off the streets during FOCAC. About 40 percent of commuters took public transport, 10 percent higher than usual.

"Policies such as alternating commuting hours and prolonged hours for buses and subways could be developed into long-term regular mechanisms, but still need further appraisal," said Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Traffic and Transportation Administration Committee of Beijing.

"The policies that were well-received by the general public have ensured a smooth summit as well as normal Beijing life."

"Next year we will host a series of test events in the run-up to the Games as well as other major international conferences. Successful management during FOCAC offers us very important experience in organizing major events."

"Beijing can definitely offer good traffic conditions for a high-level 2008 Olympics with the joint efforts of the government and concrete support from the general public."

Major measures adopted during FOCAC included increasing bus transport capacity, less driving of cars and extensive traffic broadcasting through direction boards, media and text messages, Liu said.

From Nov. 1 to 5, passengers on buses and subways increased by 10 and 15 percent respectively. During that period, buses carried more than 53.35 million commuters, 6.7 percent higher than usual, while the subway transported 10.84 million commuters, a 15.9 percent rise.

Meanwhile, a "drive-one-day-less" campaign was jointly launched by Beijing's 407 car clubs and organizations, according to Du Shaozhong, spokesman of Beijing Environment Protection Bureau.

A total of 411,685 private automobile owners signed up to a campaign promising not to drive. Also, around 80 per cent of government cars were banned from the streets.

The flow on major avenues including Chang'an Avenue and the second and third ring-roads decreased 13 percent from the normal level.

"We have tried to minimize the disruption to normal life. This time Beijing did not adopt any compulsory policies on privately-owned cars, nor did it issue any holiday notices to organizations," Liu said.

Liu also stressed that the government did not spend extra cash on ensuring roads were clear.

Editor: Donald