TRAFFIC on Shanghai’s roads flowed much more freely in the second quarter of the year as tightened restrictions on out-of-town plates drove a significant reduction in the city’s “jam index.”

According to the latest survey by online mapping company AutoNavi, Shanghai was the eighth-most congested city in China in the April to June period, after ranking second only to Beijing in the first three months.

Its jam index — which is expressed as a multiple to show how much longer road journeys take during rush hour periods than at other times — fell 0.08 points quarter on quarter to 1.86.