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Public vehicles

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-21 08:05

The municipal government of Beijing might not have anticipated the ripples stirred up by its "zero increase" in "public vehicles" proposal. That is vehicles purchased and supported with public money and used by public offices, mostly government agencies.

There have been positive comments, ours included. After 16 years, when all talk about cutting the number of government vehicles turned out to be empty rhetoric, at least there is the promise to not increase the number of government vehicles. That is indeed something to celebrate.

But, perhaps to the local authorities' surprise, the clause in the city's program of proposed traffic regulations aimed at tackling the increasingly acute congestion on the roads - which was not that prominent - has attracted more suspicion than praise.

The proposal itself raised questions. Except for an ambiguous pledge of "zero increase", nothing was mentioned about the current situation and what action was to be taken. People are wondering whether it means there will be no growth at all, or whether public offices will be able to continue adding new vehicles under their existing quotas. This is not a difficult question. But there has been no answer yet.

As to the more basic question of exactly how many "public vehicles" have been registered locally, the municipal authorities' reply was simply stunning - it is "not convenient" to provide such a number.

That is against commonsense. The city has invested handsomely in upgrading its traffic information system. Each and every automobile has to obtain a license before hitting the roads. Detailed owner information is on file with the local traffic authorities. The inconvenience is not the result of the difficulty in obtaining information, but that of willingness.

On Nov 3, China Central Television said there are a total of 700,000 "public vehicles" in the city. The city's recent reluctance to offer a number suggests the information requested is "sensitive" to say the least.

However, the public has a legitimate right to know the true number. Such an enquiry has nothing to do with any "state secret". The government has an obligation to report to taxpayers on the way public money is spent.

The local authorities need to come up with a full and clear account of the number of public vehicles there are in Beijing. Not only to ease public concern, but, more importantly, to present an authentic base for informed decisions regarding local traffic.

Just as many have pointed out, exempting government vehicles from the high-profile traffic regulation program is not only unfair, it may seriously compromise the effectiveness of the campaign, as well as public confidence.

(China Daily 12/21/2010 page8)