Beijing subway users feel crowds and pinch after fare hike

Passengers wait to board a train of subway Line One at a station in Beijing, Dec 29, 2014. Beijing has raised subway fares from Dec 28, but it seems to make little difference to the congestion on the public transport system. The city's subway system carries approximately 10 million passengers daily on workdays. [Photo/CFP]

Beijing subway stations show flat traffic flow on the first workday after the hike in fares, although passengers waited in longer lines to get differentiated priced tickets, and felt the pinch. Some reported tightened security checks.

On Sunday Beijing started using a new ticket fare system, which is distance-based, and more expensive than the previous flat two yuan (32 cents) fare. And this morning's peak traffic flow is the first major test of the new system.

A worker at Huixinxijienankou, a transfer station on Line 5 and Line 10, told chinadaily.com.cn that this morning, the traffic flow didn't show any obvious change.

Three stations on Beijing's busiest subway lines, Sihui East station on Line 1, Tiantongyuan South on Line 5 and Shilipu station on Line 6, didn't show traffic flow fluctuations either, chinanews.cn reported.

"I live around East 4th Ring in Chaoyang district, and work about 20 kilometers away in the northern part of Beijing, in Changping district. It now costs me 5 yuan for each commute, about 200 yuan each month, compared to just 80 yuan in the past. But I have to take it. The subway is more punctual and faster than the bus," a commuter at Huixinxijienankou station surnamed Sun told chinadaily.com.cn.

On Sunday, about 40,000 passengers traveled on Line 4 between 7am to 8 am, an 8 percent decline compared to last week, presumably because of the rise in costs, Beijing Times reported.

Although the crowded traffic remains the same, there's been a sharp increase in people waiting in the queue for one-time tickets and consultation.

Passengers can pay either by using a stored value card or buying a one-time ticket for Beijing subways.

"It used to charge 2 yuan for everyone alike so it used to be quicker to hand out the tickets. But now we have to deal with each customer's prices." A worker at Huixinxijienankou explained.

"What's more, many passengers came up asking how they can get a discount. They seemed confused but very concerned about the discounts,"said the worker.

According to Beijing Youth Daily, four lines opened on Sunday, namely Line 7, Line 14 (East Part), and sections of Line 15 and the Line 6 were extended. The four new lines adopted the same security check system as airports. Not only passengers' bags and belongings will go through the x-ray check, but they will also be frisked.

There are 41 stations on the four lines, thus increasing the number of Beijing subways stations that run body search on passengers to 50.

A Chinese writer and scholar Wang Xiaodong said on his Sina Weibo account that he was frisked while entering Line 7 this morning, and he worried if this would be too time-consuming and keep commuters stuck in the morning.

The new fares, which were formally put in force on Sunday, put subway fares starting at three yuan, and bus fares at two yuan.

The price of a subway ticket ranges from three yuan to six yuan when the travelling distance is below 32 km. People who go further need to pay one yuan for every 20 km.