Capital city Beijing is expecting a reform of the public transportation system.

It would involve the general adoption of the so-called integrated circuit (IC) traffic card and abolish the monthly ticket system, officials said.

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, and other transport authorities, urged the launch of the change which has been part of the city's development plans for years.

"Beijing is among the last few cities in China which still has monthly tickets. This is incompatible with the fast development of the city's public transportation industry," said Zhang Wanheng, an official with the commission.

Some 1 billion yuan (US$120 million) is spent by the municipal government each year to subsidize the monthly ticket system, with 70 percent of the money going to bus services and the rest to the underground system, said the official.

It poses a heavy burden on the municipal government and weakens the competitive edge of the bus firms which rely heavily on government support. With prices ranging from 40 yuan (US$4.8) to 50 yuan (US$6) for each monthly ticket for the bus and underground respectively, the government spends another 50 yuan on each monthly ticket. Once getting the ticket, the passenger can travel on a bus or underground as long, or as frequently, as he or she chooses.

The continuous rise of energy prices has pushed the bus companies into a corner, with gasoline costs increasing by as much as 15 percent from year to year.

It is estimated that one in 10 Beijingers are ticket holders - or 1.3 million commuters.

The available routes for monthly tickets are usually the most busy and crowded ones. The use of the monthly ticket has greatly reduced profits on these particular lines.

Five reform plans have been submitted to the commission, and among them two are likely to be adopted, said Ding Xiangyang, director of the commission.

One is the IC pre-paid bus card. With one of those, an adult would pay 30 percent less than the normal fare while a student would pay just half. With each bus or subway ride, a certain amount of money is deducted from the card. When the money is used up, more money has to be added to it. On the underground system, the same plan would mean the current 50 yuan (US$6) paid for each monthly ticket could be increased to 70 yuan (US$8.54).

The second plan is to raise the monthly ticket price by 20 percent.

Beijing first introduced the IC traffic card on December 31, 2003, issuing an initial 100,000 cards.

But in 2004 less than 100,000 new consumers bought cards. 

(China Daily February 23, 2005)