What does 'Four Days On, Four Days Off' in Guangzhou mean?
2 Answers
Guangzhou's 'Four Days On, Four Days Off' policy refers to the regulation that non-Guangzhou registered small and medium-sized passenger vehicles, including those with temporary license plates, entering the restricted areas of Guangzhou, are not allowed to drive continuously for more than four days. If they wish to enter again, they must wait for at least four days. In other words, vehicles with out-of-town license plates can drive for a maximum of four consecutive days, and after driving for one day, they must wait for four days before they can drive again. The purpose of implementing this policy is to focus on reducing the high traffic intensity caused by non-local vehicles in the central urban areas of Guangzhou, thereby minimizing the impact of these vehicles on local traffic. The controlled areas should form a network to prevent regulated vehicles from entering the controlled zones through alternative routes, which could undermine the effectiveness of the control measures.
I was also curious about this issue while driving in Guangzhou recently, so I looked it up. The 'four days on, four days off' policy is actually Guangzhou's traffic restriction measure for non-local license plates. It means if your car has a non-Guangzhou license plate, you can drive continuously for 4 days after entering the restricted zone, then must stop driving in that area for 4 days. The calculation starts from your first entry - every 4 driving days require 4 resting days. Violations will result in fines. This rule applies to core urban areas during weekday rush hours. At first I found it troublesome too, but a mobile app makes it easy to track entry/exit times. This design mainly aims to ease urban congestion - after driving under this policy for months, I've noticed rush hours are indeed less congested. However, forgetting to track time can be nerve-wracking, so I recommend everyone install a reminder app to avoid tickets.
