Shanghai, December 29 (Gasgoo.com) Beijing residents now spend an average of 62.3 minutes on daily commutes made during rush hour, an increase of 7.3 minutes from two years ago, China Daily reported on Friday, citing a study.
The time increase is directly linked to the city's soaring car population, which topped 4 million units in the middle of this month, the biennial study on residents' mobility from Beijing-based Horizon Research said.
The study highlights the impact that new cars on Beijing's roads are making on the daily lives of residents in the Chinese capital, Horizon research director Zhang Hui said Thursday.
"The noteworthy result this year is more residents are concerned with the growing number of vehicles on the streets," Zhang said. "A large group of them have urged authorities to restrict the car population."
Industry experts have warned that explosion of car ownership – now a quarter of the 16 million permanent residents in Beijing have a car - is sacrificing both air quality and road efficiency in the city.
The Economist magazine recently reported that Chinese commuters now spend an average of 42 minutes going to work each day, the longest commute time for workers in the world.
