'Think ahead'

Motorcyclists wait for customers on Huaihe Road in Hefei. Ma Qibing / for China Daily

The situation is more closely resembling the traffic congestion in big cities such as Beijing. The local government has noticed.

During this year's sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in March, many members from Hefei offered proposals to deal with the city's traffic.

Jiang Hongliu, a CPPCC member, suggested that the number of private cars be controlled and people encouraged to use public transport.

"Many big cities have suffered severely from traffic jams before they move on to the step of handling the problem," she said to a local reporter. "Since Hefei is developing at quite a fast speed, it is important for us to think ahead of the problem."

Private cars are still selling, but not as quickly. Data from the Anhui Statistics Bureau for the first quarter of 2011 show that car sales increased 16.5 percent from last year, but the rate of increase in sales slowed 32.2 percent from last year.

Zhang, the Binhu resident, bought a car for commuting to downtown in 2008. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

"I do not drive in the busiest traffic hours now," she said. "It was not until I started driving to work that I realized that finding a parking area, getting stuck in heavy traffic jams and paying 5 yuan an hour for parking are all very unpleasant. The joy of owning a car is just not as much as I imagined."

Two-wheel risks

Many people who have used motorcycle taxis report they were scared by the speed - or at least the sensation of it out in the open - and violations of traffic rules.

Freelancer Han knows the risks he faces to earn more than 2,000 yuan ($308) a month. That is why he and many motorcycle taxi riders wear helmets and have one for passengers as well. "Motorcycles are more dangerous than cars," Han said.

Hefei traffic police tallied 300 deaths last year from 677 accidents caused by motorcycles. Comparable figures for standard taxis last year are not available, but through April this year police have recorded eight taxi accidents with one fatality.

"Motorcycles have always been our focus of traffic controlling," said Rui Feng, a Hefei traffic police officer. "We adjust our focuses every week, yet motorcycles always remain as one of them.

"Many people take motor taxis because they want to save time and avoid traffic jams. In fact, the motor taxis disobeying traffic rules are making traffic conditions even worse in the city."