Traffic ban shall be imposed during the Olympic Games in Beijing, with the vehicles affected compensated by the government, said Ji Lin, vice mayor of Beijing on Friday.

"Automobiles, excluding taxis, buses and emergency vehicles, are to stay off roads every other day in accordance with the even and odd numbers on the license plates," said Ji, a deputy to the 11th National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

"The ban is aimed to ensure air quality during the sport events in Beijing," Ji said.

Drivers whose vehicles are stopped according to the rule will get compensation, he noted, adding that the compensation plan is being drafted and the amount is yet to be published.

Beijing tested traffic ban from August 17 to 20 last year, removing 1.3 million or one third of automobiles from its gridlocked streets, which, according to an earlier report, can reduce exhaust emissions by 40 percent each day.

The air quality seemed improved during the four-day trial, with the pollution index standing between 93 and 95, down from 116 on the day prior to the test.

Beijing is going all out to clear its sky and remedy its clogging traffic for the Olympics this coming August, with boosting public traffic a major resort. The city slashed prices of public traffic and opened a 27.6-km subway line last year.

"Keeping public traffic at low price is not a makeshift, but a long-term policy to encourage more citizens to leave behind their cars," said Ji.

The vice mayor also told Xinhua that Beijing would extend its railway to 561 kilometers by 2015.

(Xinhua News Agency March 7, 2008)