Shenzhen authorities now require all its government agencies to stop using official vehicles one day a week based on their license plate numbers in response to a notification for an energy-saving and emissions-reduction program initiated by the central government.

"Yellow-label" cars, or heavy-polluting vehicles, are also banned from the road one day a week, according to Shenzhen Traffic Police Bureau.

Official vehicles that are also "yellow-labeled" will be banned two days a week, Xu Wei, deputy director of the bureau, said at Tuesday's news conference.

Xu also introduced a plan to reward residents who drive less.

According to him, the Shenzhen government is considering introducing a new policy. Residents who join "Green Journey," a campaign the bureau launched in March, will have the chance to get discounts on parking fees and insurance and will be granted a shorter road safety education. They may even receive fewer penalty points should they infringe any regulations.

A total of 89,927 Shenzhen drivers have applied for the "green" travel policy since it started on March 4, Xu said.

Drivers can apply to the "no-drive" policy for 30 days or more a year in seven ways, including on the traffic police bureau's website www.stc.gov.cn and via the hotline 12580 or 0755-22222000.

Car owners who stop driving for 30 or more a year will receive car stickers in three categories that offer parking discounts. They need to stop driving for 30 days or more to get a one-star sticker and 90 days or more in total and 30 days each year to get a three-star one. The specific rules haven't been released.

According to Xu, if a driver's penalty points don't amount to the maximum 12 in a year, he can apply for a road safety education course. After passing the course exam, the driver can get a reduction of 3 penalty points. Those who apply to join the "Green Journey" scheme and obey it can get a reduction in the time spent on road safety education. This can also lead to a reduction in penalty points.