世界无车日呼吁绿色出行

In an attempt to promote more eco-friendly ways of travelling, cities across China have taken part in a series of activities to promote "car free day" yesterday, urging people to walk, take a bike or use public transportation.

Municipal officials in Shenzhen gave out over 200-thousand free bus tickets.

Hubei's capital Wuhan unveiled an additional 100 bike rental points.

The campaigns appear to have struck a chord with some.

"Actually, riding a bike is comfortable as well. Each of us just do a little in our lives, it will make a difference. We do this also for ourselves. It will be nice to see blue skies and nobody wants the haze."

However, traffic levels across many of China's major metropolitan centers didn't appear to dip much, with many suggesting the public transportation systems are still over-crowded.

"The public transport system should be improved. People choose to drive or take a cab because it is not convenient to take the public transport. Subway is extremely crowded and it's very difficult to get a cab during the rush hours."

Professor Zhou Xiaozheng with Renmin University says getting people out of their vehicles is going to be a major challenge.

"The traffic problems in big cities, especially mega cities, have long been argued about. The public transport should always come first, while private cars and cars of government officials must be limited. Sidewalks and non-motorized vehicle lanes including bike lanes must be available."

Traffic authorities in Beijing have announced plans to increase the availability of public bike rentals.

An additional 20 rental points are being added this year, which will make an additional one-thousand bicycles available in the capital.