Public anger as Beijing cuts subsidies for bus and subway tickets
Rise in prices from December 28 will see subway ticket’s starting fare of 2 yuan (about HK$2.5) rise to 3 yuan for trips within 6 km, and bus fares rise to 2 yuan within 10 km, Xinhua reports
China's state media sparked public anger today after it reported that the mainland government will increase Beijing's subway and bus fares next month as part of a drive to cut public transport price subsidies and ease the capital's congestion.
The price rise, which will go into effect on December 28, will see the subway ticket’s starting fare of 2 yuan (about HK$2.5) rise to 3 yuan for trips within 6 km, the state news agency Xinhua said today.
Bus fares will rise to 2 yuan within 10 km. Both the subway and bus systems will also adopt distance-based pricing.
Many Beijing residents expressed their anger on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. “There are always traffic jams when taking the bus and the subways are so crowded. You still have the nerve to increase prices?” one Chinese internet user wrote.
The China Daily newspaper reported last month that subway travel would account for 5.4 per cent of the average per-capita disposable monthly income of Beijing residents – up from the current 2.6 per cent – if the anticipated fare increase went ahead.
The new fares, discussed by the government since last year, mark the first time in seven years that Beijing is increasing subway fares.
However, despite the rise in fares, the Beijing government will still subsidise 50 per cent of subway operation costs and 62 per cent of bus operation costs, Xinhua said previously.
The Beijing government spent 95.8 billion yuan on subsidising public transportation between 2007 and last year. The subsidy has increased by 19 per cent annually over the past seven years, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported.
