Shanghai, Feb 11 (IANS) Hundreds of government vehicles in China’s Zhejiang province will be fitted with GPS devices to prevent officials from using them for personal use, a media report said Friday.
The Global Positioning System or GPS will be fitted in 439 government cars in Songyang county, the China Daily reported.
By Jan 20, a total of 116 cars were fitted with the device, said Lu Jingtian, head of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China’s Songyang committee.
Further 323 vehicles will be fitted with the device by the end of this month. The cars belong to 75 government organizations and state-owned companies in Songyang county, Lu said.
‘The GPS device for each car costs about 1,000 yuan ($152), and the monthly operational cost will be about 30 yuan,’ he said.
‘The GPS devices are meant to reduce the use of official cars for personal purposes and to improve the government’s image.’
Through the GPS, authorities can monitor and record the movement of the cars, he added.