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Beijing Deploys License Plate Rules, 29 Subway Lines to Combat Gridlock
The city pairs weekday driving limits inside the 5th Ring Road with its 29 subway lines as planners roll out the 2025 traffic action plan.
How we reported this
Beijing now restricts vehicles inside the 5th Ring Road on weekdays from 7:00 to 20:00 based on the last digit of license plates, a rule that began March 31, 2025. The measure targets the roughly 6 million vehicles serving a population of 22 million, where ring-road delays stretch across most daylight hours.
Plan Targets Peak-Hour Pressure
The 2025 Comprehensive Traffic Management Action Plan lists 32 key tasks, among them 30 congestion-relief projects and 35,000 new downtown parking spaces. Officials introduced the steps after average weekday congestion reached 100 minutes in the first half of 2024, a figure 30 minutes longer than the same period in 2023 and paired with a traffic index of 5.0. The subway network of 29 lines already carries the bulk of riders during the 6:30am-9am and 4pm-7pm peaks, giving planners a ready alternative when surface streets slow.
Similar large cities elsewhere continue to add road capacity without matching transit frequency or entry controls, yet Beijing’s approach layers timed vehicle bans directly onto an existing subway backbone. The combination keeps the focus on moving people rather than vehicles alone.
Practical Steps for Daily Travel
Commuters can check license-plate restrictions before entering the 5th Ring Road zone on weekdays and shift trips to the subway during the documented peak windows. The city’s documented expansion of parking near stations and the continued operation of all 29 lines provide concrete options that reduce exposure to the measured 100-minute average delay. Residents tracking the 2025 plan updates can follow project announcements from the municipal government site for the next set of relief measures already listed among the 32 tasks.