Beijing enforces traffic restriction for greener APEC

Beijing is committed to managing the flow of traffic, even banning certain government vehicles, in an effort to improve air quality during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, authorities said Sunday. [Special coverage]

According to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, starting Monday, 70 percent of the municipal government's vehicles, around 19,000 of its fleet, will face driving restrictions.

An odd-even license plate policy for cars, including those from outside Beijing, will be put in place from Nov. 3 to 12. Depending on the license plate, cars will only be able to drive on alternating days throughout that period.

Beijing imposed a traffic ban based on an odd-even license plate system during the 2008 Olympics, which saw 45 percent of the city's cars off the roads and helped clear the skies.

The APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting is slated for Nov. 10 to 11.