Public transport buses to be upgraded with safeguards

Shanghai will equip some 7,500 public transportation buses with emergency windows and another 2,100 with surveillance cameras by the end of the year, in a bid to step up safety precautions for the public, local authorities said Wednesday.

The measure was announced at a local work safety meeting Wednesday, when authorities discussed how to improve transport and industrial production safety, particularly in areas involving public transport and manufacturing industries.

Local authorities also said that they were considering updating and improving safety operation rules for railways and transportation facilities.

The officials further mentioned plans to train 200,000 migrant workers in work safety, with the idea that the knowledge would then be passed on to at least another 100,000 migrant workers.

Other major work safety targets for the city this year include moving 120 chemical plants to specialized chemical industry areas, speeding up the city's process of adapting gas facilities, and improving emergency response abilities of public places, especially entertainment sites, shopping malls, schools and high-rises by enforcing more routine checks and fire drills.

The plans come after 1,250 accidental deaths in the city last year, many of which were related to transportation, fire, mining and mechanical production sectors.