On the Road: Petrol Prices Up, Personalized Plates and Cops on Electric Bikes

Petrol Prices Up
At midnight last night the price of the regular #93 fuel went up by 8% about 3%. It now sells for RMB 6.37 a liter and a liter of #97 will set you back RMB 6.78. The price hike was announced by the Beijing National Development and Reform Commission, who put it down to the higher cost of producing the superior quality Euro IV standard gasoline which is now required to be used in all of Beijing’s vehicles. This measure was adopted in March this year to help the city achieve its air quality goals. The Beijng News quotes energy experts as saying that the price adjustment will not be nationwide at present. This is the first price rise since petrol went up 16% in June this year.

Personalized Plates
Car owners in Beijing are once again being allowed to decide (with a few restrictions) which numbers will appear on their registration plates. Early yesterday morning the first personalized license plate processed under the new system was 京NV8888. Beijing residents applied for more than 1,000 plates yesterday with 6, 8 and 9 proving especially popular digits. According to the Beijing News, some residents queued outside the hall for two or three days to make sure they could get the license plate they were after. The whole process of picking numbers only takes about 5 minutes. The news of allowing personalized plates comes on the heels of an announcement last week's reports that the city might start setting a quota on the number of vehicles registered each month.

This is not the first time that Beijing has allowed residents to choose their own plates, according to Xinhua:

Beijing introduced the "pick-your-own" license plates for the first time in 2002. The system lasted for only 10 days. About 23,000 plates were issued before it was suspended amid complaints over picks that were rude and crude, including "USA 911" and "TMD"-- representing the first letters in a common Chinese swear word.

The Beijing Traffic Management Bureau is confident that no funny business will take place this time around. The new system limits car owners to choose only four digits and one letter from the Roman alphabet. The plate must start with 京N (for inner city drivers) or 京Y (for suburban drivers). The last digit must be a number and the letters I and O can not be used.
Despite the best efforts of the Beijing Traffic Management Bureau, we’re sure that Beijing drivers can come up with some imaginative plates. The best that we could do given the current regulations is:

京 NB 2008

But with a little more leeway we thought of these options:

京 SB 9741

京 AK4700

京 G0061E

Anyone else think of any?

Cops on Electric Bikes

Finally, as of last Sunday, 1/3 of the police force patrolling Beijing are patrolling on bikes and electric bikes. The police claim that by increasing their reliance on foot, bicycle and electric bike patrols, they’re not only making themselves more approachable but it's easier for them to spot and question suspects. It also has the added benefit of allowing them to avoid getting stuck in traffic. The bicycle police will mainly patrol downtown areas, tourist sites, and narrow streets and alleys. They’re equipped with truncheons, handcuffs and spray. We’re not sure how happy the local constabulary is going to be about downgrading from the warmth of a patrol car (especially all those nice new models they bought for the Games) or the big grunt of the police motorbikes to a small electric scooter, especially now that winter is just around the corner.

Links and Sources
The Beijing News: 93#汽油涨至6.37元/升
Beijing National Development and Reform Commission (Chinese)
The Beijinger: Price Hike: Beijing's petrol and energy prices go up - and maybe cabs?
Beijing Traffic Management Bureau
Beijing Traffic Management Bureau: Beijing restarts personal license plates
Beijing Traffic Management Bureau: Details of new regulations (Chinese only)
The Beijing News: 自编车牌“京NV8888”抢先
QQ: 北京10月6日起新车上牌可自编车牌号 (image)
Qbar: 中国最搞笑的车牌号 (images of funny plates from 2002)
The Beijing News: Cops on electric bikes
Sina: Image of Big Bikes
JRJ.com: Meinv Jingcha