I came across an article in your newspaper arguing that there is no room left for cars to squeeze into cities. As a white-collar worker based in Beijing, I totally agree with the author's opinion that cars tremendously outnumber places.

The feeling of anxiety is particularly intense when trying to find a parking space in a shopping mall.

Owning a car is a symbol of social status and wealth in Chinese culture. For many girls going on a blind date, the brand of the car and the size of the apartment now carry more weight than the boys' personalities. Many people do not need a car, but feel pressured to buy a car. Vanity has partly pushed to the tremendously large number of cars in big cities. 

In addition, more and more people are becoming too lazy to walk or ride to work. Many may prefer being stuck in a traffic jam to walking 30 minutes to the office. It is a strange phenomenon that people are willing to pay to work out in the gym, but always reluctant to spend some time riding to work. There's little idea of living a "green" lifestyle in Chinese society. Smog has become the norm in big cities, especially in Beijing. This is attributed in part to the large number of cars on the streets.

In face of the massive and still growing number of cars, the local governments should try different means to restrict the use of private vehicles, for instance, the even-odd number rule. People would not struggle to scrape a space if fewer cars were allowed on the streets. By adopting compulsory measures to limit the number of private vehicles, the costs for a parking space are also expected to decrease.

In addition, some people may choose to drive because of the poor public transport system. Waiting for a bus in chilly wind or scorching heat for half an hour is very common in some cities. The underground transport system is also far from perfect in many places.  Some public transport carriers lack standard cleaning and disinfection services as well.

Given this, local governments ought to take up the responsibilities to provide better public transport services, for instance, running extra buses and constructing longer underground lines. If more people chose to commute by bus or the subway, the lack of parking lots would no longer be a headache to many cities.

Your article mentioned a couple in their 70s who rotated monitoring a parking space until their son came back home in his car.

If both individuals and the government can shoulder their own responsibilities, the poor couple would not have to suffer  in all weather conditions just to secure a parking space for their son.

Little Jelly, a white-collar worker based in Beijing