Beijing Subway (Photo : Reuters)
Despite public unrest over expensive travel expenses, the capital city implemented on Dec. 28, Sunday, the new rates for the public subway transportation.
Officials of the Beijing Subway Group said that Line 4 and Line 14 on the average take 40,000 and 3,000 commuters, respectively, during the rush hour last Sunday. Officials said that the figure is 8 percent and 12.9 percent lower than the previous Sundays.
Chinese netizens posted photos of the empty trains in different subway routes. This presented a major difference from the previous full-packed trains when the ticket price raise was not implemented yet.
China Youth Daily conducted a survey and stated that 52.8 of the Chinese train commuters are against the ticket price hike.
A passenger admitted that the "daily travel expenses have now doubled from four yuan ($0.64) for a round trip to 10 yuan. A bus trip would cost almost the same when it used to cost 1.6 yuan per day." She also added that she has no choice because choosing to ride a bus instead of the subway would delay her several hours due to traffic.
Because of the pricing theme, deputy mayor Zhang Tingkun said that people have no choice but to recalculate their daily expenses to incorporate the price in their daily budget.
The new price for a subway ticket is now 3 yuan for a minimum of 6 kilometers. The new price plan calls for additional fare depending on the distance a commuter travels.
According to law professor Zhang Zhuting, the new pricing scheme will effect subway safety because the trains will no longer be congested. He also said that because of the rising price, people will not make unnecessary trips.
