Beijing officials ensure that registration plate lottery will continue for remainder of 2012

There have been unconfirmed reports circulating across the Internet that Beijing is preparing to enact legislation to auction new automobile registration plates off. Whether or not this new policy will replace the current monthly registration plate lottery has been the subject of intense speculation. In a report appearing on chinanews.com today, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport officially responded to these speculations by confirming that the lottery policy will remain intact for the remainder of the year.

According to the rumors, Beijing would begin auctioning registration plates in September. Auctions would start at 10,000 yuan ($1,581.26), with maximum prices fixed at 90,000 ($14,231) per plate. There are concerns that if the city switches policies, owners who have already registered for the lottery would be left out in the cold. There are also those who allege that an auctioning policy is clearly favors affluent automobile owners who would not be too concerned about shelling out 90,000 yuan for the right to drive.

Shanghai currently auctions new registration plates monthly. There has been much debate whether a Shanghai-style auction policy or the current lottery system in Beijing is more effective. Zhong Hongjun, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics' School of Economics, stated that he prefers the former. However, he believes the congestion charge policy London employs to be most ideal way to deal with the issue. He also points out that number of government use vehicles, which are exempt from any such policy, is far higher in Beijing than Shanghai.