Road space rationing is not the answer

As a temporary measure, the odd-even license number driving rule drastically reduced air pollution and traffic jams during the Beijing 2008 Olympics and last month's Asia-Pacific Economic Conference conference.

But the measure cannot be made a permanent fixture. A car is legal private property of a citizen, and if the government bans someone from using their car on certain days of the week it will infringe upon a person's fundamental rights.

Moreover, the Fourth Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China emphasized the rule of law, and no law entitles the government to permanently force half of the vehicles off the road. Article 39 of the Road Traffic Safety Law should be applied to only temporary situations. And the government can take such measures only after the Beijing local legislature passes a local law to that effect. Such measures should not be implemented without soliciting public opinions, otherwise they could face opposition.