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)