CRI听力:Customized Buses May Ease Beijing Traffic Congestion

As part of its effort to ease the traffic jams in the capital, Beijing, the municipal government is to start a customized bus service.

It is estimated that a single bus could replace up to 30 private cars on the city's congested roads.

An online poll about the new service has already attracted about 90 thousand votes so far, with many showing great interest in the service.

Hu Jia has more.

By the end of next month, the first bunch of routes will be up for city dwellers to subscribe to.

The proposed seat-guaranteed, wi-fi enabled and air-conditioned buses successfully address the issue of overcrowding. However, people are questioning if this innovation is a way of solving the primary problem, congestion.

Zhu Liang is a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"The biggest problem in Beijing is that there're way too many private cars, so the most direct way is to persuade car drivers, or at least some of them, to favor public transport. This customized express shuttle could act as an alternative for car drivers."

Although buses and subways here in Beijing form one of the most developed public transport networks in China, the city has failed to attract private car owners to embrace greener options.

The uncomfortable ride and the inconvenience caused by numerous transfers in public transport is not only time-wasting but also nerve-breaking.

When comfort is not a big worry, concerns centre on whether or not the price will be affordable.

Bus fares in Beijing for transit card holders currently stand at 0.4 yuan for adults and 0.2 yuan for students.

Hong Chongyue, the vice president of the Beijing Public Transport Group, says they are aiming to establish a monthly package deal at around 30 percent of the cost of driving a car.

"We'll charge 15 Yuan for a 20 kilometer return ride. But if you choose to drive a private car for as long as that, the cost could well surpass 50 yuan, given the amount spent on toll fees, fuel and parking lots."

To distinguish the new service from the existing community commuter express, Hong stresses that the customized bus will hand over the total responsibility over the initiative to passengers.

"In the past, we planned the routes first and passengers would apply for seats. But this time, the Group will plan routes according to the needs and load of passengers. We will then recruit potential customers via this platform."

The service is expected to mainly connect dense residential areas, such as Tiantongyuan and Huilongguan in northern Beijing, with main areas, such as the CBD in the east and the Financial Street in the west.

For CRI, I'm Hu Jia.