Bus passengers will enjoy a 60% discount starting on January 1, 2007 for taking Beijing's ground public transport as long as they use bus cards on bus routes below the 900-series.

At a press briefing on Thursday, the assistant general manager of Beijing Public Transportation Holding Ltd, Yao Zhenping, said the discount will be adopted only for cardholders on all bus lines below 900. The other routes will be discounted by 20%, while student passengers can enjoy a higher discount of 80%, he added.

Yao said a flat ticket price of 1 yuan will be set for buses below the 500-series, meaning passengers will pay 4 jiao (less than 5 cents) for each ride and 2 jiao for students with a card. When taking buses above the 500-series, passengers will be charged depending on the distance of the ride.

The assistant general manager stressed the discount is only for card users and does not apply to cash fares.

(CRIenglish.com December 22, 2006)