Frustrated commuters plan to rent own shuttle buses
- Source: Global Times
- [08:57 March 29 2011]
- Comments
By Yan Shuang
Around 200 residents in Tongzhou district have expressed their willingness to take charted buses on five routes to resolve their commuting problems.
A resident surnamed Guo proposed renting buses as an alternative to the only two bus lines passing through the area in a post on the Longhu Dafangju residential community's forum (lhdfj.cn) on March 22.
"The nearest subway station is Guoyuan Station on the Batong Line," Guo said. "It takes us about 20 minutes to get there, and it's very crowded." The only two bus lines are overburdened, with wait times of up to 40 minutes, Guo added.
Five routes to destinations such as Guomao in Chaoyang and Zhongguancun in Haidian have been chosen. A one-way ticket will cost 8 to 10 yuan ($1.21 to 1.52). Operations will start once one of the routes has 50 applicants, Guo said.
"I'm not aware of the matter," said a media department employee surnamed He with Tongzhou's Liyuan area administration, which oversees the Longhu Dafangju community.
"Residents can always come to us if they need anything, and appeals and requests are welcome," he said.
"We did go to the residential committee and the sub-district administration," Guo said, though they have not approached the Liyuan administration. "They told us they'll inform the upper-level authorities, but we haven't received a response," Guo said.
Bus renting for everyday commuting is illegal, according to the district's traffic management bureau Monday.
"Regular routes will have to be approved by the bureau," said a bureau employee surnamed Li.
"Residents can apply to the district government for adding bus lines around their communities, and the bureau will conduct research in the area to decide whether plans for new bus lines are necessary," he said.
The process may take two to three months, according to Li.
Some residents have raised concerns over safety and liability in the event of an accident.
"The safety of passengers is one of the remaining issues yet to be solved," Guo said.
The city began providing 12 shuttle buses Monday between major residential communities and their workplaces to facilitate transportation.
"We hope government authorities can consider plans for some shuttles here, or add more bus journeys to the existing two bus lines," Guo said.
