New 7-day pass for out-of-town vehicles angers drivers

Beijing has cancelled the half-year passes given to out of town vehicles, in a bid to ease heavy traffic jams in the capital. A new policy implemented on Wednesday says only seven-day passes will now be issued. Beijing residents and frequent visitors to the capital who drive with non-local plates are now facing a lengthy weekly commute to renew their passes. 

Beijing's notorious traffic jams called for drastic measures... and now they've come.

The new policy requires out of town vehicles to renew passes every week, instead of the previous six months.

Beijing has at least 300,000 out of town vehicles. With the new policy taking place, these car owners will need to drive up to one hundred killometers to renew their permits, and every seven days. The extra demand in time and money has upset many drivers.

"There's been no mention of cancelling the long term passes before, so I bought a car with a non-local plate. Now the new policy has caused great inconvenience for me. There could also be more traffic around the check points in the future. "

"Traffic authorities should ban non-local vehicles altogether instead of causing so much trouble. The extra travel costs me a lot more in time and fuel."

The new policy has also expanded the area of restriction from the 5th to the 6th ring road.

Drivers getting caught will be fined 100 yuan and have three points deducted from their driver's licence.

Beijing has 24 highway stations open for the service, but most are located far away from city center, at the Hebei province border.

Many people say the added travel defeats the policy's original purpose.

"I think authorities want to reduce congestion and pollution, but the contrary could happen, given how much extra travel it causes. I even feel discriminated against for driving with a non-local plate. "

Getting a Beijing license plate is hard.

In 2011, the capital introduced a monthly lottery system. The chance of winning, currently 1 in 80, has forced many to look elsewhere to find a plate.

The new policy may now force them back to waiting for a lucky draw.