7,277 old buses will be replaced by new ones that meet higher
environmental standards from now until 2008 in a bid to reach the
goal of a "green
Olympic Games", according to a news release by Bank of Beijing
on Wednesday.
In a contract signed on Tuesday between Bank of
Beijing and the Beijing
Municipal Committee of Communications, the bank will provide a
loan of 4 billion yuan (US$493 million) to the Beijing Public
Transport Group to help replace buses with excessive emission
levels.
Yan Bingzhu, board chairman of Bank of Beijing, said the
vehicles to be eliminated will be the following: diesel engine
buses of Europe I or lower emission standards, worn-out buses and
those that use either petrol or liquid petroleum gas.
The Europe I standard states that for the emission of a small
vehicle with less than six seats and lighter than 2.5 tons in
weight, the carbon monoxide content should not exceed 3.16 gram per
kilometer, the hydrocarbon content should not exceed 1.13 gram per
kilometer, the particulates for diesel-engine should not exceed
0.18 gram per kilometer, and the durability of the vehicle should
be at least 50,000 kilometers.
Zheng Shusen, board chairman of the Beijing Public Transport
Group, said 17,507 buses are now on the road, and by the end of
this year, the group will have replaced 3,858 diesel-engine buses
of Europe I or lower emission standards with new buses that meet
the Europe III emission standard as the first step of the
project.
The whole replacement project should be completed by 2008, in
time for the Olympic Games.
Zheng said the new buses are more comfortable, convenient and
modern, which will contribute to Beijing's image as an
international metropolis.
All the buses will be equipped with electronic screens and
speakers to announce stops along their routes. They will be
designed to be lower from the ground level that older buses, as an
added convenience to children and the physically disabled.
Beijing Vice Mayor Ji Lin said that there will be 5,000 natural
gas-powered buses running in Beijing by 2008. The cooperation among
the bank, the government and the enterprises set a good example for
the infrastructure construction of the capital.
Ji said the government would continue to encourage the
development of public transport and make it a priority in solving
the city's traffic problems.
Despite the rapid growth of mass transit transport and private
cars, buses are still the most popular mode of transport for
Beijing residents. In 2004, it was estimated that Beijingers
managed 4.36 billion person-rides.
(China Daily, China.org.cn December 1, 2005)