BEIJING, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Foreign experts have urged Beijing to limit the use of private cars, improve public transport and get people back on their bikes to curb congestion during the 2008 Olympics, state media said on Saturday.

The government plans to keep more than 1 million cars off the roads on average to improve traffic flow during the Games, Xinhua news agency said, quoting Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Traffic Committee, speaking at a conference.

Dave Wetzel, fellow of Britain's Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, said private cars were limited in central London by high charges and stressed limiting the use of company cars in Beijing.

"Government officials should also be encouraged to use public transportation or ride bicycles," he told the conference.

Beijing, with a population of 15 million, is home to more than 3 million cars and other vehicles, adding to the city's notorious pollution along with construction dust and factory emissions.

Olympics organisers are hoping that a new 12.7 billion yuan ($1.66 billion) subway line which is due to open before the Games will take some of the traffic off the road.

For many years the bicycle was king in Beijing and by 1978 there were still only 77,000 cars. China's opening up to the outside world changed that: the 1 million mark was reached in 1997 and 2003 saw the total pass 2 million.

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