北京外地车新规 (běijīng wàidìchē xīnguī): Beijing's new regulation on vehicles with nonlocal license plates

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, Beijing Municipal Environment Protection Bureau and Beijing Traffic Management Bureau jointly issued a new traffic control policy on Friday, which stipulates a time limit for driving vehicles without a local license on the capital's roads.

According to the new policy, people driving cars without a Beijing license plate should apply for permits if they enter the roads within the sixth ring road of Beijing and all the roads within Tongzhou District. Vehicles without a Beijing license can only apply for permits 12 times a year at most, and each permit is only valid for seven consecutive days.

It means people who own a car with a non-Beijing license can only drive in Beijing for 84 days a year at most. Except for the days when they have permits, the drivers of the cars without local license plates cannot be driven or parked in public areas of the capital.

According to the authorities, nowadays there are more than 700,000 non-Beijing license cars driving on the roads of Beijing every day. The new policy aims to control the localized use of nonlocal license vehicle in Beijing, while also guaranteeing the needs of drivers of nonlocal license vehicles who are coming to the capital on business or a tour.

It is expected the new policy will not only ease traffic jams and reduce air pollution in Beijing, but also promote new energy vehicles, as it is easier to get a license plate for an electric car through the existing license plate lottery system.