At 5:30 p.m. yesterday, the first non-stop bus from Beijing to Shanghai pulled out of station and began its 16-hour journey.

At the same time, its Shanghai counterpart also started the trip to Beijing on the expressway linking the two cities.

Industry insiders regard the new trip a good opportunity for long-distance buses to compete with the already saturated rail transport.

An official with Zhaogongkou Long-distance Passenger Transportation Co said daily passenger volume in the recent two days reached 13,000, up 30 percent, mostly because it's hard for passengers to get train tickets.

(Eastday.com 01/16/2001)