Beijing polls public opinion on public transportation fare hike

Commuters wait to board a train of subway line 10 at the Guomao Station, in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 7, 2013. [Photo: Xinhua/Wang Quanchao]

The window for offering your opinion on the potential increase in public transportation fares here in Beijing has now closed.

Municipal authorities are now expected to deliver a statement as to what we can expect as far as the fee increases are concerned.

Beijing municipal authorities began soliciting the public's opinion on public transport reform earlier in the month, seeking the opinions of the public on adjustments to the cost of transportation in China's capital.

The public can voice their opinions on the Beijing municipals governments website or via the use of the popular Chinese instant messaging service; wechat.

The current fare for subway services in Beijing is 2.0 RMB ($0.32). This includes transport to any destination in Beijing excluding the airport express line. The city's bus system charges 0.4 RMB for holders of the Beijing transportation smart card. These are some of the cheapest fairs for public transportation in a tier 1 city in China.

Former Beijing traffic commentator Xiao Hang offered his opinions on this issue.

"There is a huge amount of pressure put on the public transportation system in Beijing. The pressure is placed on both the passengers and the management teams of the public transport services. Certain plans need to be put in place to stop this pressure before it becomes too much for the public transportation services to bear. Beijing could take on a similar system to Guangzhou or Shanghai Beijing actually originally used a pricing system based on distance. I personally feel that a system should be put in place that takes into consideration the needs of the market."

In comparison, bus services in shanghai are between 1 and 1.8 RMB for a standard service and 2 rmb for air conditioned buses. The subway prices in shanghai can vary between 2 and 9 rmb depending on the distance and number of transfers.

As cheap as these fares may seem, public transportation costs in Beijing have witnessed several increases throughout the service's history.

After several minor increases in price, a standard fare of 0.5 RMB was established in 1991. This amount was increased to its current fare in 1995.

The Beijing municipal government originally subsidized transport costs in Beijing to avoid heavy congestion. Beijing is seen as the land of opportunity in the country with an annually increasing amount of job seekers and students residing in Beijing. This has now escalated to the point where the roads are still heavily congested despite public transportation fees.

In addition to heavily congested roads, the subway system in Beijing also faces similar problems. If the price of Subway fares was hiked much higher than that off buss fares it may relieve some of the pressure of the heavily congested subway system.

Transportation costs in China are relatively cheap, especially in comparison to modern Europe or the USA. Subway fairs in London average between 4.70 pounds and 5.70 pounds for single tickets. This equates to 49.96/60.60rmb.

Xiao Hang reflected on his experiences abroad.

"The difference between the price of public transportation between Beijing and the western world is huge. It would not be realistic for Beijing to charge the same prices as London because of the difference in incomes. The low price of the subway system in Beijing has however surpassed the expectation of consumers. The price adjustment of the public transportation in Beijing will need to also take into consideration the average level of income."

Inflation is a constant phenomenon which makes the rise in transportation costs inevitable for the citizens of Beijing. China has such high rates of growth in its economy, money supply, and prices, meaning that heavily subsiding transportation in Beijing is an ever-growing burden for the Chinese government.

The public transportation polls will close on July 20th, after which, the authorities will give a statement on this issue.