Ministry of Communications regulations aimed at improving
long-distance bus safety, chiefly by targeting overloading, were
published on July 13 and will take effect on August 1.
The Regulations on the Administration of Road Passenger
Transport and Road Passenger Stations were approved by the ministry
on June 3 and apply to transport services, bus companies and
supervisors.
According to the ministry's website, overloading will be
strictly forbidden under the new regulations with buses only
allowed to carry non-fare-paying children up to 10 percent above
seating capacity.
The regulations will also require that every long-distance
driver has a three-year clean driving record and proper first aid
knowledge, echoing a road traffic rule approved by the State
Council in April 2004.
Last October, the WHO identified China's roads some of the
world's deadliest, with about 300 fatalities a day. China has also
been criticized for lax enforcement of traffic rules, badly
designed roads, and inexperienced and reckless drivers.
Du Guoqiang, a frequent rider of long-distance buses between
Xiangfan and Shiyan in central China's Hubei
Province, said the illegal picking-up of passengers is common
practice.
According to an information clerk at Xiangfan, coaches are
supposed to travel non-stop for the two-hour trip to reach Shiyan,
but Du said "the bus always picks up passengers at stops in between
without approval just to earn extra money."
Inspectors at either end of buses' trips currently check for
overloading, ticket-less passengers and timeliness, but outside
cities there is no control, a problem the new regulations attempt
to address.
"They are designed to standardize services provided by
long-distance coaches, and chartered and tourist buses," said an
unnamed official from the ministry's road traffic division.
The regulations will specify penalties for violations and
require carriers to buy insurance to cover passengers' risk of
injury.
The official said the ministry is also considering drafting
further regulations aimed at supervising drivers and
conductors.
(China Daily July 19, 2005)