“While the ban is a short term Band-Aid, it raises awareness,” she said.

“The government has been pushing for cleaner autos and standards, and this is helpful for putting the issue front and center.”

On Monday, drivers with even-numbered plates were forced to find other ways to travel, and the government estimated that would mean an extra 4 million commuters.

Normally snarled traffic flowed smoothly in many areas, although a special “Olympic lane” on many busy thoroughfares meant one fewer lane for vehicles without a special pass. The Olympic lanes were empty Monday, still 18 days before the games begin, while adjacent lanes were jammed as usual.

“I don’t feel any difference today. It seems the number of cars on the road didn’t decrease very much,” said one driver, who like most Chinese gave only his surname, Liu.

He said he was not too inconvenienced by the restrictions: “I have two cars, and tomorrow I’ll drive the even-numbered car.”

Neighborhood Web sites were filled with car pool requests, while others relied on public transportation. Although there were more riders, the system was generally able to handle the increase by adding buses and subway cars.

“It was crowded before, there’s still a lot of people now,” said Jiang Hao, as he stood on a subway platform during the evening rush hour. “But it’s a test for the Beijing subway system, because before, the city subway was already sometimes overloaded.”

Subway cars were full, though they were not as jammed as they sometimes can be, when passengers are pressed awkwardly against the car doors and each other.

The passenger load was alleviated by two new subway lines and an airport rail link that opened at the weekend.

The number of passengers on the three routes was expected to reach 1.1 million daily during the Olympics.

In all, eight lines will carry up to 5 million people daily during the games, the company that runs the subway said.

Beijing’s foul air is forcing many athletes to train outside the city, and International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge has said outdoor endurance events lasting more than an hour will be postponed if air quality is poor. The world’s greatest distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, has bowed out of the marathon because the pollution irritates his asthma.

In addition to the traffic plan, chemical plants, power stations and foundries had to cut emissions by 30 percent beginning Sunday. Dusty, noisy construction in the capital had to stop entirely.

Some 300,000 heavily polluting vehicles — aging industrial trucks, many of which run only at night — were banned as of July 1.

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