Car buyers may need to prove they own parking spaces  

交通部门建议摇号须有车位 北京将对停车位编号

(ECNS) -- Beijing's transport commission has suggested that ownership of a parking space should be a new prerequisite for citizens buying cars, according to the Beijing Morning News.

The newspaper said Wednesday that the commission had suggested that applicants for new car license plates through the lottery system should show proof of owning or leasing a parking space.

The suggestion was applauded by experts, who said many foreign countries have introduced such a measure as a way to curb rising numbers of vehicles.

More than 40 percent of the vehicles in the city don't have fixed parking spaces, according to data released by the city's transport commission.

Beijing has about 5.4 million vehicles but only 2.76 million parking spaces, the report said.

In response to the dilemma, Beijing plans to issue a map of parking venues, according to the Beijing Daily, which cited a new regulation passed by the municipal government on Tuesday.

According to the regulation, a unified platform of all parking lots will be launched in order to release real-time information for each parking venue.

As all the public parking venues are numbered on the map, drivers will easily be able find out which parking lots have vacancies.