Shanghai to ban heavily polluting vehicles from downtown in rush hour (Shanghai Daily) Updated: 2006-01-19 09:46 Shanghai, the largest
metropolis in eastern China, is ready to clean up its center by barring heavily
polluting motor vehicles from downtown area in peak times.
According to
Beijing-based China Daily, the Shanghai traffic authority has announced that it
will issue certificates to owners of vehicles which meet the Euro I emission
standard from January 20 to February 14.
Beginning on February 15, buses,
cars and lorries without the special certificate will be forbidden to enter the
city's inner ring elevated roads from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Any driver in the
restricted area who fails to show a vehicle emission certificate will be fined
200 yuan (US$25).
From October 1, all motor vehicles that emit pollutants
exceeding the Euro I standard will be prohibited access to all the inner-ring
roads between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., the authority said.
A total of 56
service outlets have been set up in the city to accept the certificate
applications for vehicles with local license plates.
Vehicles coming from
other towns, which will stay in Shanghai for more than a week, are also required
to apply for the certificate at one of the 16 road-toll service
agents.
The city will set up 23 checkpoints to determine whether vehicles
are eligible for the emission certificates.
The traffic authority said
they will not give the certificate to heavily polluting vehicles that have been
revamped.
According to Sun Jian, vice-director of Shanghai Environmental
Protection Bureau, the bureau will adopt the stricter Euro III standard on
vehicle emission in the city next year and probably adhere to the Euro IV
standard in 2009.
Air pollution caused by vehicle exhausts has become an
increasing problem in Shanghai as car sales have grown steeply in recent
years.
It is estimated that the number of automobiles in Shanghai
continues to rise by at least 6,000 every month.
Environmental experts
expect the latest move to affect about 350,000 motor vehicles, around one-third
of Shanghai's approximate 950,000 cars, buses and trucks.
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