Beijing drivers ignore No Car Day

Today - Sep. 22nd - being 'No Car Day', Chinese authorities were expecting that car drivers would heed their encouragement to 'give up the car' in more than 100 Chinese cities... yet it doesn't look like that has been the case, especially not in Beijing.
Katie Melua once sang: 'There are nine million bicycles in Beijing. That's a fact,
It's a thing we can't deny'.

Well, it seems there are nine million cars in Beijing instead, with more than 1000 new cars being bought in Beijing alone each day. Further, the BBC reports:

Cars have been banned on some central streets in Beijing and all drivers are being encouraged to leave their cars at home voluntarily. But correspondents say that in the capital National No Car Day appears to be making little impact.

Millions of vehicles are on the roads every day in Beijing, causing massive air pollution. The BBC's James Reynolds in Beijing says that cars are coming and going as normal, and most streets in Beijing are not adhering to No Car Day.

Environmental campaigners say China must overhaul its transport system, not just with a few ad hoc No Car Days but by putting in cycle lanes, reducing the price of public transport and making it much more difficult for people to buy private cars.

Read in full at - 'Beijing drivers ignore No Car Day'