However, once a long standing habit has been formed it can be a
little hard to break!
The scenes were a little bit chaotic at some bus stops during
the rush hour periods yesterday as Beijing formally scrapped its
decades-old paper monthly passes for public transport and replaced
them with an automatic fare collection (AFC) system.
Nearly 1.5 million monthly bus pass users and 200,000 metro
travelers must now use palm-sized 'smart' cards to pay for their
city traveling. But passengers without the new 'smart' cards will
not be turned away and be able to buy a traditional paper ticket
for a period of time.?
Passengers used to be allowed to enter by any door of a bus but
now they're required to board? through the front door (or the
middle one on buses with three doors) because that's where the AFC
machines are installed. They must exit using the back door or the
front and back doors of a three-door bus.
And on the first day it was obvious that some commuters of the
city with more than 14 million people were finding it difficult to
get used to the new arrangements which had arrived overnight.
"I agree it's convenient to use a card," said Zhao Tianbao, 62,
a local resident on a No 62 bus, "but absolutely not at rush
hour."
Zhao cited the No 300 bus, which circles the Third Ring Road as
an example, "Though the bus is very big at rush hour it's extremely
difficult to get on it as people now just swarm to enter through
the front door."
Liang Yiran and Li Shanshan, both 17-year-old students, said
they were late for school today because of the crowded conditions
in the morning. "I wonder why they can't install machines at both
doors," Liang said.
Cai Fen, the No 62 bus conductor, which operates between
Jiangzhuanghu and the Yonghegong metro station, said that the
change yesterday did not save her any work.
"I have to keep reminding people to enter from the front door at
each stop and keep a close eye on those who use the card to ensure
they've used it correctly," she said. "But that's understandable,"
Cai said. "After all it's the first day."
More than 1,100 buses were added to the 84 busiest routes of the
city to alleviate the pressure during the rush hours, the Xinhua
News Agency quoted Li Xiaosong, deputy director of the Beijing
Transportation Commission, as saying.
Foreseeing the possible confusion the Beijing Municipal
Committee of Communication arranged for 4,000 'order maintainers'
to assist at the city's most crowded bus stops. As an added
precaution railings were erected at most stops to ensure organized
queuing by passengers.
(China Daily May 11, 2006)