BEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters) - China will promote public transit as its cities strain to cope with a rapid increase in private vehicle ownership, a state newspaper said on Monday. The government should increase investment on public transport systems and subsidise their development, the China Daily reported, citing a document released by the National Development and Reform Commission and finance and construction ministries.
Beijing faces particular problems, with an average of 1,000 new cars appearing on the city's roads daily, the newspaper said.
"It is unrealistic to attempt to resolve the city's traffic jams simply by widening roads because any effort to widen the roads would lag behind the increase in automobiles," it quoted construction ministry official Wang Fengwu as saying.
Choking pollution exacerbated by rising traffic levels has been another cause for concern in many Chinese cities.
Worsening traffic in the capital has also proved to be a headache for organisers of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, despite the government investing some $40 billion to expand the antiquated subway system and build new roads.
"We had not foreseen five years ago that we would be in such a situation," said Hein Verbruggen, International Olympic Committee coordinating commission chairman, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
But he added that officials did not think traffic would be a problem for the event.
"It's a big challenge, not a problem. I am not talking about problems, but an issue. We are confident because I know they will resolve it," he said.
If Beijing's most ambitious expansion plan is approved, the capital could have the world's longest subway network by 2020, exceeding that of London, state media said last month.
Guardian Unlimited
