Beijing may sell automobile license plates by auction instead of the current lottery system from April, as one of planned new measures to ease the city’s traffic congestion.

　　为了缓解北京的交通拥堵，作为计划中的新举措之一，自4月起，北京的车牌将不再使用现行的摇号制，而改为拍卖。

　　The authorities will release new measures before April 10, the day the city’s current traffic restrictions expire. Asked about whether the current car ban restriction would be changed in April, Rong Jun, spokesman for the Beijing municipal commission of transport, said it is still under review by traffic departments.

　　本轮的交通限行措施将于4月10日到期，在期满前，政府将出台新措施。当被问及目前的汽车限行禁令在4月是否会调整时，北京市交通委新闻发言人容军表示，交通部门仍然在研究中。

　　However, he said the capital’s transportation departments are evaluating some market-based reform programs to distribute the car plate quotas.

　　不过，他说交通部门正在评估将车牌指标引入市场化配置的改革方案。

　　"The final plan has not been made yet. But there are many measures that can be used for reference, such as the car plate auctions in Shanghai," he said.

　　他说，“目前还没有定出最终方案，但可借鉴的很多，比如上海的车牌拍卖方式。”

　　"We have put forward different adjustments several times in the past, but the original measure has ended up being kept every time as we consider residents have got used to it," Rong said.

　　容军说，“之前几次我们也提出过调整，但最后都维持了原先的限行方式，主要是考虑市民已经形成习惯了。”

　　At present one-fifth of the city’s vehicles are banned from the streets each weekday based on their license plate number.

　　在当前的限行措施中，根据牌照尾号，工作日里每天都有1/5的机动车被限制上路。

　　Shi Jianhua, deputy secretary general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, urged the government to improve the road infrastructure, instead of imposing restrictions.

　　中国汽车工业协会副秘书长师建华呼吁政府改善道路基础设施，而不是限行。

　　"The government should think about how to create good rules for society, not limit it," Shi said.

　　他说，“政府应该考虑如何为社会创造良好的规则，而不是通过限行达到目的。”

　　He said the government should not deprive people of their right to own and drive a car. He believes optimizing the capital’s road network is the key to solving its congestion problem.

　　他说，政府不应当剥夺人们拥有汽车和驾驶汽车的权利。他认为优化道路网络才是解决拥堵问题的关键所在。

　　But Cassie Zhang, a 32-year-old Beijing resident, said she would welcome a license plate auction with open arms, as she believes it would be more reliable than the current lottery.

　　但32岁的北京居民凯西张说，她热烈欢迎车牌拍卖，因为她觉得这样比摇号更靠谱。

　　"You will get a car as long as you have money to bet," she said.

　　她说，“只要你肯出钱，你总能买到一辆车。”

　　Zhang put her name on the lottery list last year as her family needs a second car.

　　因为她家需要购置一辆二手车，去年她申请了摇号指标。

　　On Feb 5, the commission unveiled its goals of controlling the traffic congestion indices in the urban center to 5.7 and raising the percentage of environmentally conscious travelling to 71 percent.

　　2月5日，北京市交通委发布2016年缓解交通拥堵计划目标，今年中心城区交通拥堵指数控制在5.7，绿色出行比例提升至71%。

　　However, Rong said earlier this month that the department will use "economic leverage and necessary administrative means" to reduce vehicle use this year, and the authorities are considering raising the parking fees in the city’s central area and introducing flexible working times and other measures to ease the traffic pressure.

　　不过，2月初，容军曾说过，今年交通部将使用“经济杠杆和必要的行政手段”来降低机动车使用率，并且，政府正在考虑提高中心城区停车费，以及引入灵活多样的工作时间和一些其他措施来缓解交通压力。

　　The annual plan issued this month encouraged companies located in busy downtown areas of Beijing, such as the Central Business District, Financial Street and Zhongguancun, to apply flexible commuting times during rush hours for their employees.

　　本月发布的年度计划还鼓励位于北京市中心繁华地段的公司，如中央商务区、金融街和中关村等，为其员工申请上下班高峰期时灵活的通勤时间。

　　It also continues promoting the development of new-energy vehicles.

　　同样，新能源汽车也一直被鼓励。

　　Currently 2.58 million Beijing residents have put their name on the waiting list for a car plate.

　　当前，有258万北京市民在排队等着车牌摇号。

　　The commission’s five-year plan also mentioned the idea of charging a congestion fee, which has sparked debate.

　　交通委的五年计划中，还提到了收取拥堵费的想法，这引起了争论。

　　Zhou Zhengyu, head of the commission of transport, said a few months earlier the commission will evaluate the possibility of collecting a congestion fee sometime this year, and discuss collection methods and which areas of the city should be charged.

　　北京市交通委主任周正宇几个月前说，今年，交通委将评估征收拥堵费的可能性，讨论收费方法，以及哪些地区纳入征收范围。