Shuttle service eases Beijing commute
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E-mail CNTV, September 11, 2013
The Beijing Public Transportation Group has opened a new shuttle bus route that runs from the eastern suburb of Beijing to the city's center. It's one of seven special shuttle routes created to alleviate the city's traffic jams and vehicle emissions affecting air quality. For more on the issue, we have our colleague Tang Bo, who took a ride on one of the shuttle buses this morning.
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Shuttle service eases Beijing commute. |
Tang Bo: "I was on the first shuttle bus delivering commuters from a community in the Tongzhou District to the city center. The whole trip during the morning rush hour took under one hour. The bus was modern and clean, and today had 11 passengers on board. Everyone had a seat, and they looked quite cozy and happy. The shuttle made two stops before getting onto the highway. It was interesting to see that while all the other cars were trapped in gridlock on the highway, our shuttle bus was able to pass by them using the exclusive bus lane. Some passengers told me that that shaved about 20 minutes off their regular commute -- enough time to have a decent breakfast. But they also said there should be more routes at different times of the day to meet the increasing needs of commuters living far from the city center.
The Beijing Public Transportation Group have opened a new shuttle bus route from the east of Beijing to the city center. It's one of 7 new shuttle bus routes aimed at helping commuters in Beijing get to work on time. And it should alleviate gridlock and pollution caused by exhaust emissions.
This bus is different from others.
This customized shuttle bus service is a new service provided by the Beijing Public Transportation Group to help make the city commute smoother.
Lu Yuejin, operation department of Beijing Public Transport Holdings, said, "The customized shuttle bus service aims to provide people who normally drive to work by car or taxi with a new type of commuting service. It's part of efforts to diversify the city's transport service, help alleviate its traffic problems and reduce carbon emissions."
Lu says the Beijing Public Transportation Group hope the shuttle bus service will encourage car owners to use their cars less.
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Shuttle service eases Beijing commute. |
It aims to reduce the number of cars on the road and the amount of vehicle exhaust in the capital's air.
And, the shuttle service is convenient, with few or even no stops on many of the routes.
By using the exclusive bus lane, it guarantees all passengers punctuality, and a comfortable commute.
Reporter: "Commuters in Beijing who are tired of the over-packed buses and subway trains now have the option of a personalized commuting service. A low-cost way of travelling in luxury—a single trip of 10 kilometers costs 15 yuan—much cheaper than private cars and taxi."
The price is more than 7 times the amount of a single subway trip, and about 5 times that of a single bus ride for the same distance in Beijing.
But it's still very affordable for the average office worker.
To book and pay for a seat, you just order online.
Once 50 percent of seats on a particular route are booked, the route begins operation within a week.
Lu said, "Setting up shuttle routes is not an easy task. You need to take into consideration the starting points and destinations requested online, as well as the road and traffic conditions so as to ensure an efficient commute."
The implementation of the shuttle bus service comes in response to the transportation problem Beijing is currently trying to tackle.
Thirty years ago, Beijing had fewer than 100,000 motor vehicles on the road. Now there are more than 5 million.
So the city's arteries are clogged well beyond the morning and evening rush hours, bringing delays to overcrowded buses.
As one of the measures introduced by the municipal government to address traffic problems, the shuttle service aims to ease the city's overburdened transport system.
Tang Bo: The service aims to ease the city's notorious traffic jams, but aside from that and saving travel time, it appears the effect of relieving traffic congestion in Beijing won't be felt for quite some time.
Anchor: Can you tell us more about Beijing's new customized shuttle bus service?
Tang Bo: "According to Beijing Public Transportation Holdings, there will be 62 bus routes with 168 bus stops serving 31 destinations, and the service covers around 100 communities. The state-owned company says the routes were based on the feedback from an online survey on customized shuttle services. The survey received 160,000 hits and was completed by more than 70,000 people. Most of the planned bus routes pass through large residential communities and serve the city's main commercial areas. Of the 62 routes, 13 will serve residents living in large communities in the eastern suburbs of Beijing, such as Tongzhou district and Yanjiao in nearby Hebei province. The shuttle buses are equipped with air conditioning and WiFi, but for now, you have to pay 5 yuan, less than one US dollar to get a temporary account to get online. The service sounds quite luxurious, but actually the cost of using the shuttle service is significantly lower than traveling to work by car or taxi. It costs around 7 yuan for a single trip of 10 kilometers, while a private car on average costs around 20 yuan, and the same trip by taxi would cost about 50 yuan.
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