CRI听力:Beijing Hikes Public Transport Fees; Opens New Subway Lines

Beijingers have bid fare well to low price transportation after the government raised bus and subway fares on Sunday.

The new rates double the current prices on average, but include some discount schemes.

The price hike is not likely to stop commuters who live far from their work from choosing public transportation, especially the subway.

"I used to spend 4 yuan per day but now it will be 8 yuan."

Beijing Metro suspended service Saturday night to prepare for the fare hikes.

Jia Peng is director of the Marketing Department of Beijing Metro.

"To ensure the new fare-accounting system works well on Dec. 28, over 11,000 employees had a sleepless night on Saturday. It can be said the whole system is doing well after hours of our efforts."

15,000 public transit workers were also mobilized overnight to upgrade the card reading machines on the city's 22,000 buses after the end of operations on Saturday.

The price hike did affect public transit on Sunday, with some 20 percent fewer passengers taking the subway on three lines surveyed by local media compared with a week ago.

But the real challenge may come during rush hours today, the first workday after the price hike.

Meanwhile, trial operations of four new subway lines in Beijing began on Sunday.

The new lines have increased the total subway length in the capital to 527 kilometers. The lines should increase to 1000km by 2020.

The city's subway system carries some 10 million passengers daily on workdays.