The city of Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong Province will install GPS tracking systems in government cars this summer to prevent them from being used for private purposes, a senior official said.
Su Zhijia, deputy Party secretary of the CPC Guangzhou Committee, said in a regular discussion led by deputies of the local congress and members of political consultative bodies that the city will adopt stricter measures to oversee the use of government cars starting June.
Su said that the government would keep track of all government cars and charge government employees who use cars for private purposes.
Han Zhipeng, a delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Guangzhou Committee, originally suggested using GPS systems to oversee government cars, the Guangzhou Daily reported.
The new measures are expected to save tens of millions of yuan in taxpayer money in Guangzhou, which has at least 31,000 government cars, the report said.
China spends millions of yuan every year on buying and maintaining government cars, which are often criticized for being misused for private purposes as well as for enjoying privileges over regular vehicles.
The criticism has prompted governments in provinces including Yunnan and Zhejiang to reform the practice by providing subsidies for their employees to take public transportation in recent years, instead of using government cars.
According to Su, starting June, every government employee who uses a government car must insert a card carrying his or her personal information into the GPS system, which will enable the immediate detection of the use of cars during non-work hours.
Su added that government employees have to apply for permission from higher authorities to use government cars for private purposes, and pay 1.5-1.7 yuan ($0.23-0.26) per kilometer.
Those who violate the rule will receive verbal and written warnings until they are held accountable.
"The public is not against public cars, what they are against is the misuse of government cars," Su said.
"Some government cars are used for work only one third of the time. The rest of the time they are either used for private purposes or by drivers themselves," he added.
Zhang Chunmei, a Guangzhou resident, said that she is skeptical of the effectiveness of this new policy.
"It sounds like a good plan but it is really difficult to know if the cars are used for private purposes or not," Zhang told the Global Times.
By Zou Le
