When the Central Government decided to cut down on pollution by calling for a Car Free Day in September, many thought it was a flash in the pan. But on October 27, Kunming, in southwest China's Yunnan Province, continued with the practice when private cars were banned from city streets. Now the last Saturday of every month is officially "car free" in the city, apart from public transportation, police and emergency vehicles, making Kunming the first city in China to adopt this initiative on a regular basis.

Kunming's streets are a traffic nightmare as the number of private cars grows each month. With no subway system, traffic on more than 80 percent of artery roads and streets crawls along at an average speed of 10-21 kph at rush hour.

The new Kunming initiative came about after it was discovered that on the national Car Free Day, the major indices of pollutants, including carbon-hydrogen compound and nitrogen dioxide, dropped 55.9 percent and 45.1 percent in the city, respectively, as exhaust fumes from motorized vehicles were reduced, in addition to a 2.6-decibel decrease in noise level with a 41-percent decrease in the number of on-road vehicles.

Du Lingang, Deputy Secretary General of the Kunming Municipal Government, said that the local government has adopted the "car free day" program on a monthly basis to promote the concept of green living through advocating public transportation.

Frequent vehicle restrictions have triggered debates among the public. Some civilians questioned the legitimacy of this move, saying that it is improper to promote environment-friendly concepts through the use of administrative power. They say there should be strict rules for the government to exercise its power so that people will feel they are free to be socially responsible on their own terms.

The costs for the car free proposal in China are substantially different from in Western countries where car owners are totally exempted from additional financial costs. If they choose not to drive their cars, they don't have to pay the fuel tax. But in China, owners of motorized vehicles pay for road maintenance on an annual basis. So, if Chinese drivers are not allowed to drive on car free days, for which they have paid road usage in advance, they will definitely suffer financially.

Considering the controversial legal basis for such a decree, people asked whether confining their cars at home has deprived them of their rights on free use of private possessions, or if their road use charges would be refunded.

Others complained of China's far less developed public transportation infrastructure in some areas. As a matter of fact, more pressure has been in place after the car free policy was adopted in some cities, where public vehicles were overloaded, or even close to collapse by the sudden increase of passengers. Take Kunming for example. According to local transportation authorities, public transport is capable of accommodating only 23.5 percent of the total volume of commuters, and city dwellers say there is insufficient public transport when they are not allowed to use their own cars.

An overwhelming majority of citizens opt to take the most speedy, efficient and economical mode of transport, while the government is keen to further promote emission control policies to save energy resources and soothe transportation and environmental woes. The best solution would be that both sides can compromise to meet their respective needs.

One size doesn't fit all

Shu Shengxiang (Hefei Evening News): Good city planning and advanced management experience fail to function once they are transplanted to different locations. That is not because of system deficiency, but wrong localization strategy, meaning how to maintain the essence of the system after it is moved is key.

Local governments are usually more interested in seeing instant effects of eased traffic congestion, namely saved fuel, reduced pollution and less traffic accidents on no car days, instead of considering the opinions of affected car owners.

It is a temporary solution for traffic and environment problems at best, and it cannot bring a dramatic change in mindsets on environmental awareness in the long term.

To improve the efficiency of traffic planning and utilization of public resources, a simple traffic control is far from enough. The major value of this car free campaign is set to raise people's awareness in the protection of environment, and to exploit more potential capacity of public transport.

Yang Tao (Sanxia Evening News): It is of no great help to soothe traffic jams and reduce pollution levels by a dictated policy. People will naturally resort to more green traveling methods through changing their outlook. A policy may curb pollution and congestion each day a month, but it cannot be effective all year around. It is better to improve the efficiency of public transportation.

Private property and the right to use it are protected by the newly released Real Right Law, and there is no exception to privately owned cars.

Liao Dekai (Youth Daily): The launch of a car free program has largely displayed the government's determination in resolving traffic and pollution issues that have long been a concern to the public, however, all that should be preconditioned on legitimacy. The national car free day, advocated by the Central Government, is held only once a year, and this frequency speaks volumes.

Meanwhile, this event discloses Kunming local government's lack of intelligence in governance due to its shortage of methods to deal with public emergencies.

Mao Jianguo (www.china.org.cn): Transport control is a possible way to improve environmental and traffic conditions. But the results are achieved at the expenses of the people who own private cars, and it is absolutely unfair on them. The real car free living can be realized by people's enhanced social and environmental awareness, and their willing support of public transport.

It is too easy to solve all related problems by banning private cars. Those in positions of power who are too lazy to resolve the most complicated problems by the simplest method can only add fuel to the fire.

Car bans needed

Hong Qiaojun (Jiangnan City Daily): It is unfair to prevent car owners from using their own possessions. However it is equally unfair for those who are not using cars to breathe the polluted air from car exhausts.

Critics, on one hand, complained of traffic jams, high emissions, and heavy pollution, and thus they suggested the initiative of this car free campaign. Yet when the government followed through with the suggestion, it was accused of impinging on individual rights. But the government is only a guardian for the rights of a vast majority, rather than each individual.

If more people can be made aware of the relationship between man and nature through banning cars, the point has been made.

Xu Guangmu (Dahe Daily): While we fully enjoy the comfort and convenience brought by modern inventions like automobiles, we are deeply troubled by its increasingly obvious side effects such as environmental pollution, traffic congestions and huge consumption of energy resources.

But today, more and more people are getting used to traveling by private cars, and there needs to be outside intervention to help them change their traveling habits.

The car free initiative that aims at fostering a more healthy, environment-friendly and civilized lifestyle, may encourage more people to choose alternative environment-agreeable ways of traveling.

An Ping (Changjiang Times): Kunming's local government is being accused of imposing compulsory car bans on citizens. Actually, it is the same as some other regions around the world. For example, private cars are banned in downtown Paris. We need more time to test the efficiency of the new traffic policy before drawing hasty conclusions.

Dear Readers, "Forum" is a column that provides a space for varying perspectives on contemporary Chinese society. In each issue, "Forum" will announce the topic for an upcoming issue. We invite you to submit personal viewpoints (in either English or Chinese). Upcoming Topic: What has caused the Chinese people's dilemma on the reform of their holiday system? E-mail us at byao@cipg. org.cn Please provide your name, telephone number, zip code and address along with your comments. Editor: Yao Bin