People see through broken bricks of a damaged shop to inspect the site of a car bomb attack in Baghdad. Authorities are resorting to desperate measures to quell rising violence, ordering huge numbers of cars off the road in the capital and bulldozing soccer fields. — AP

 

BAGHDAD — Moves to bar half of Baghdad’s cars from the roads have left residents frustrated, with many doubtful that the rules will achieve the aim of curbing car bombs.



Faced with a surge in attacks, including a summer of bloodletting in the Iraqi capital where waves of car bombs have struck on a near-weekly basis, officials introduced the measure on Saturday. Vehicles with odd-ending registration plates are now allowed to move on Baghdad’s roads one day, followed by vehicles with even-ending plates the next.



Implemented with barely any warning in a city with little semblance of a reliable public transport network, the measure is a revival of one taken in 2005 when violence was rising ahead of the worst of Iraq’s sectarian warfare.



Those caught breaking the ban face fines of 30,000 dinars ($25) and the impounding of their car. Exemptions have been granted for buses, taxis, trucks and vehicles belonging to senior government officials, doctors, journalists and select others. “It is an additional burden,” said Abdulqader Saad, a 37-year-old agricultural engineer who now runs a shop selling roses. “But the streets are the same, the traffic is the same. It has not solved anything.”



Standing in front of his car at a garage near Shuhada Square, he added: “I used to come to the market and takes things I needed by car. Now I’ll need to take a taxi.”



The six million-odd residents of Baghdad are heavily dependent on their personal cars, with little in the way of public transport aside from minibuses and taxis. Officials have said the measures are only temporary, but the last time they were implemented, they stayed in place for six years.



As a result, taxi drivers, operators of river taxis and others offering public transport have seen business pick up as commuters have had to rely on their services more regularly. “I used to take my car to cross the bridge, it was both easier and faster,” said Dhia Nadhim, a shop worker.



“Now I have to park the car on this side and pay 1,000 dinars each way to cross by boat. And once on the other side, I will have to take a bus or a taxi to reach my place of work,” he said.



Several commuters, however, voiced agreement with the tight new rules, arguing that the measures would help security forces and alleviate some of Baghdad’s morning gridlock. “It is a very good decision,” said Hashim Mohammed Hanoon, a 46-year-old salesman. “It makes for less crowded streets and you can get around more easily.” — AFP