Beijing vows to improve public transportation

"The municipal transport commission will provide better service and management of Beijing's public transportation system, while a reform of ticket prices takes place," said Rong Jun, a spokesman for the authority, at a press conference in Beijing on Sept 26.

Reasonable ticket price hike

Rong added that the rate of increase is still under discussion, with data such as passenger flows on different means of transportation, need speculation and analysis taken into account.

However, he revealed the increase in the subway ticket price would not be higher than other cities in China, and the rate of increase would certainly be reasonable, since public transportation is a public welfare undertaking.

People traveling by buses account for 57 percent of the city's total passengers using public transportation, according to the conference.

Larger subway network

Four construction projects on the subway, including Line 7, the second phase of Line 6, the east section of Line 14 and the west section of Line 15 are all in their first phase, with a total length of 62.2 kilometers, and this will bring the city's total length of subway lines to 527.2 km by the end of 2014.

Release of real-time congestion index on subway lines

The authority plans to release a real-time index of congestion on the subway lines through various channels. With the help of such information, people can then get tips on travel, such as whether to take the subway during peak hours.

More clean energy buses

All buses running inside Beijing's fifth ring road will likely adopt clean energy by the end of 2017 to curb pollution in the city, the transport authority of Beijing said at the conference.

The number of buses using clean energy in Beijing has reached more than 6,200, accounting for one-third of all buses in the capital.

The city will build a car rental network that consists of about 1,000 service centers, and the number of public rental bikes will reach 50,000 by 2015. People in most towns, transportation hubs and commercial districts of Beijing will have access to the rental bikes.