BEIJING - Half of Beijing's drivers left their cars at home and took public transportation instead on Monday, the first workday under new restrictions meant to clear this city's notoriously polluted skies before next month's Olympics.
Under a two-month plan that started Sunday, half of the capital's 3.3 million cars will be removed from city streets on alternate days, depending on whether the license plate ends in an odd or even number.
Those caught driving on days they shouldn't will be fined $14, a pricey penalty even for China's capital.
Drivers with even-numbered plates were forced Monday to take public transportation, where crowds remained surprisingly manageable. That's likely because employers have been asked to stagger work schedules, and public institutions will open an hour later than normal.
"It seems that the subway isn't as busy as I expected. There are fans and air conditioning, so you don't feel very hot," said Chen Songde, who normally drives to work in Beijing.
Traffic still snaked along main thoroughfares and highways Monday, but it moved at a steady pace.
"Before we would be at a dead standstill," said a taxi driver who would give only his surname, Zhang, as he steered around cars. "Now it's better."
It could be several days before the impact of the cleanup plan, which also includes cutbacks on construction and factory closures, is noticeable. The government has not made public a specific target for vehicle emission levels, one of the city's biggest sources of pollution, or said how it will measure air quality.
Experts say the plan could still go wrong because unpredictable winds could blow pollution into Beijing from other provinces or the lack of wind