Regulations upgrade highway bus safety
By Wang Zhenghua (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-19 06:02

The Ministry of Communications regulations aimed at bettering supervision of long-distance bus transport will take effect on August 1.

As part of the ministry's efforts to ensure passenger safety, the regulations cover transport services, bus companies and supervisors.

One of the key areas the regulations will address is overloading.

According to the ministry's website, overloading will be strictly forbidden under the new regulations with buses only allowed to carry non-fare-paying children up to 10 per cent above the buses seating capacity.

The regulations will also require that every long-distance driver has a clean driving record in the past three years and proper first-aid knowledge. The measure echoes a road traffic rule approved by the State Council in April 2004.

In a release last October, the World Health Organization labelled China's roads some of the world's deadliest, with about 300 fatalities a day nationwide. China has also been criticized for its lax enforcement of traffic rules, badly designed roads, and inexperienced or reckless drivers.

Last weekend provided a tragic illustration of the problem: Four serious accidents around the country, claimed 41 lives and injured 74.

Du Guoqiang, a frequent rider of long-distance buses between Xiangfan and Shiyan, in Central China's Hubei Province, said the illegal picking-up of passengers has become common practice.

According to an information clerk at Xiangfan, the coach is supposed to travel non-stop for the whole two-hour trip until it reaches Shiyan.

However, "the bus always picks up passengers at stops in between without approval just to earn extra money," Du said.

Currently, inspectors at either end of buses' trips check for overloading, ticket-less passengers and timeliness.

But outside cities, there is no control, a problem the new regulations will attempt to address. "The regulations are designed to standardize services provided by long-distance coaches, and chartered and tourist buses," said an official with the ministry's road traffic division who would not identify himself.

The regulations will also specify penalties for violations.

The official said the ministry is considering drafting further regulations aimed at supervising drivers and conductors.

(China Daily 07/19/2005 page2)

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