Beijing's traffic nightmare

It was reported earlier in the week that the number of cars on Beijing's roads has grown to a staggering 4 million, a jump of as many as 2 million cars in the last two years.

This news will come as no great surprise to those of us who make our daily journeys across the capital city during the "rush hour", negotiating traffic whilst on foot or spending considerable time stuck in traffic on one of the ring roads. Taxis may weave in and out of lanes, but ultimately no one's going anywhere fast.

Of course one does not often have to take a car. The public transport network in Beijing is effective and growing with as many as 13 new lines of the subway under construction to ease the morning squeeze.