Midnight revelers will have a wider choice of public transport
during the 2008 Olympic Games as Beijing is to launch
special bus routes and add seven routes to the 24-hour bus
network.
Thirty-four bus routes would be arranged to relieve possible
transport pressure around venues and tourist sites during the
Games, said Liu Xiaoming, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal
Transportation Commission, on Thursday.
The host city would add seven additional night bus routes
besides the current 12, Liu said.
"A round-the-clock public transportation system during the
Beijing Olympic Games will be ensured," he added, as 40 percent of
Beijing's 66,000 taxis would operate 24 hours and rail transport
could be extended during the Games.
Liu said an advanced urban transport network would improve the
city's environment.
"If one percent of private car owners in China turned to public
transport, up to 80 million liters of gasoline would be saved every
day," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency December 14, 2007)