The Ministry of Railways has launched a special campaign to
crack down on train ticket brokers who demand a price higher than
face value from passengers. Dubbed a war between "cat and mouse,"
2,110 such speculators had been netted in by Tuesday.
Jiang Zhanlin, director of the ministry's Public Security
Bureau, said since December 20 last year, the ministry has set up
the "Blue Shield Action" headquarters to help railway police
nationwide find and punish ticket "sharks."
The drive is to last until February 22 when the Spring Festival
travel season ends.
In an interview with the Beijing-based China Youth
Daily, he said the campaign, which is the largest ever of its
kind, is covering all the railway stations. The ministry has
mobilized railway police and even their kitchen staff to conduct
160,000 spot checks.
During this year's 40-day-long Spring Festival travel season,
the mainland's passenger flow is expected to hit 2.042 billion
individual trips, up 3.1 per cent from the previous year.
Jiang said the campaign stands out in four ways:
The longest ever 63 days, which started 23 days ahead of the
Spring Festival travel season;
An overall arrangement emphasizing railway stations and trains
in all areas, unlike the previous crackdown that focused only on
Beijing in north China, Guangzhou in south China, Chengdu and
Chongqing in southwest China;
Expanded investigation spheres. Railway police are targeting all
spots where a ticket tout appears.
Seeking clues from passengers.
He said the railway police have conducted nationwide passenger
surveys, and found 7,180 tips on the whereabouts of the ticket
brokers, which helped catch the suspects. "We want to help the
passengers in a genuine way," he added.
Spot checks at the Beijing Railway Station showed that ticket
"sharks" are no longer inside the subway near the station or near
the subway's entries and exits, as they were in past years, Jiang
said.
"The final few days before the Spring Festival mark the most
rampant period for ticket speculators, because they will suffer a
financial loss if the tickets were not sold out," Jiang said.
"Frankly speaking, even our kitchen staff are being mobilized in
the war to catch ticket brokers," Jiang said.
However, Jiang said it is impossible for the railway police to
completely get rid of the railway ticket brokers, because a
loophole is formed between the passengers' demand and the available
space on the train. Huge profits are also a big attraction, he
said.
"The ultimate way out for the railway is to increase the space
on the trains to accommodate everyone," Jiang said, adding that
"when that happens, the brokers will die out naturally."
(China Daily January 26, 2006)