The municipal government of Beijing has earmarked four billion
yuan (US$500 million) to boost public transport next year in a bid
to ease traffic congestion in the city with 2.8 million motor
vehicles, including two million private cars.
Part of the fund will be used to bring down the fares of
air-conditioned buses, said Mayor Wang Qishan of the Chinese capital.
Hundreds of air-conditioned buses are in service in Beijing, but
some have empty seats even in peak hours because the minimum fare
is two yuan (US$0.25), at least double the fare on buses without
air-conditioning.
Many commuters prefer non-air-conditioned buses, because in the
most economical case, they can take up to 140 rides a month for 40
yuan (US$5).
As a result, overcrowded buses with more passengers clinging to
the doors attempting to squeeze aboard sometimes block the road and
bring the rush-hour traffic to a standstill.
"We'll have to make air-conditioned buses more affordable and
divert passengers from non-air-conditioned buses to speed up the
traffic," Wang said at a Beijing-Hong Kong economic cooperation
symposium that opened Wednesday in Hong Kong.
By speeding up public transport, the municipal authority hopes
more private car owners stop driving and take buses instead.
Beijing has reserved a special lane for buses on most downtown
roads and is considering more express lanes on arteries linking the
city center and high-density residential areas in the outer areas
in the next two to three years.
By 2010, the government hopes 40 percent of Beijingers choose
public transport as their primary means of transportation, up from
28 percent reported in 2005.
The city is also working to expand its urban rail network, which
will extend 270 kilometers and carry 25 to 30 percent of commuters
by 2010.
Road traffic was surprisingly easy even in the busiest areas
when Beijing imposed a six-day ban on at least 490,000 government
vehicles and advised private drivers to take buses to make way for
a summit meeting between Chinese and African leaders early this
month.
But congestion resumed on Nov. 7, the day the ban ended.
Urban road transport has reached a crisis point in Beijing, with
90 percent of roads operating at full capacity and little room for
expansion, according to a recent survey by the city's road traffic
management bureau.
An additional 320,000 motor vehicles hit Beijing's roads in the
first 10 months of this year, it said.
Of the 15 million urban residents, 4.13 million have driving
licenses.
The municipal authority forecast in 1993 that it would have two
million cars by 2010, but that target was met in August 2003.
(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2006)