How to support citizen travel? The reporter visited and found it difficult to reduce the number of buses in Baoding from over 1300 to 333. In Baoding City | Bus | Citizen

Recently, some media reported that multiple bus routes in Baoding City, Hebei Province have been suspended due to financial difficulties and inability to maintain vehicles, making it difficult for citizens to travel. The reporter went to Baoding for on-site visits and found that not only were some bus routes suspended, citizens had to detour to take buses, but the number of buses in operation was also significantly reduced, and citizens had to wait longer for buses. During the peak period, there were over 1300 operating buses in Baoding City. What is the actual transportation capacity now? How much has the travel of citizens been affected? How should we solve it?

The longer interval between bus departures causes inconvenience to passengers

Traveler 1: I have been waiting for more than ten minutes.

Traveler 2: What is this? When is the nearest bus on Route 1 coming? Forget it, I'll take a taxi.

At the East Square Bus Station of Baoding City Railway Station, a non local passenger waited for bus No.1 for a period of time and found out through the map app that the vehicle had not yet departed, so he directly chose to take a taxi.

A passenger is going to Qingyuan in the suburbs of Baoding when they find that the direct bus No. 7 is out of service. They can only choose to take the No. 1 bus from the starting train station to the terminal station passenger transportation center, and then detour back to Qingyuan.

Traveler 3: Hello master, is route 7 currently unavailable?

Passenger 3: Let me take bus 1 to the passenger center and reverse.

Route 61 departs during the evening rush hour, with only 6 one-way trips, totaling 35 stops

Operation of Route 61 during peak hours in the evening

At the East Square Bus Station of Baoding Railway Station, the reporter roughly counted a total of 24 bus routes, of which 12 were suspended, such as Route 5, 7, 18, 38, etc. The operating buses also extended the departure time interval. According to statistics from the Palm Bus and Map App, during the peak hours from 17:00 to 19:00, Bus No.1 departs approximately 8 times in one direction. There are a total of 16 bus stops on the route 1 connecting Baoding Station and Baoding Passenger Transport Center. At 18:24, only one bus is operating on both the up and down routes. Similarly, at 17:25, it was found that there were a total of 5 buses operating in both directions on bus route 61 passing through Dongfeng Road, the east-west main road in Baoding City. This bus route passed through 35 stops.

During the evening rush hour, the number of people waiting for trains on the main road of Dongfeng Road significantly increases, and the number of trains is relatively denser

Many passengers waiting for buses have stated that since last year, not only have bus routes been continuously suspended, but the departure intervals have also gradually increased.

Passenger 1: Previously, we only needed to wait for fifteen minutes or ten minutes, and the trains came frequently. Now, there are fewer trains.

Passenger 2: Anyway, if you can't make it, you'll have to wait for half an hour.

Passenger 2: The maximum is fifteen minutes. There's no other way, you see what these elderly people don't do, then just wait. Young people don't wait for this anymore, just drive and ride bicycles.

Passenger 3: There have been fewer trains recently, and some routes have even stopped. Young people can ride bicycles, but what if older people like us can't ride them?

There are a large number of residential areas around the bus station in Baoding Xiyuan District 1. Originally, there were three bus routes here, with Route 9 suspended and the distance between Route 25 and Route 51 extended.

Passenger 4: It's not possible to wait for the bus for half an hour now. It turns out it's not like this, it only takes about ten or twenty minutes to arrive.

During the morning rush hour, a passenger rushing to work missed Route 51. She checked her handheld bus and map app and found that there were a total of 44 stops on Route 51, with a total of 4 vehicles operating both up and down the line. The next bus would arrive in about 25 minutes.

Passenger 5: I missed it just now and was driving towards the Great Wall Company. Route 51 has just left, and there are no cars behind yet. You see, there hasn't been any car ahead either. You can tell from the car coming back now that it's the only one coming back. If you catch the traffic jam again, it will be even slower.

The handheld bus display shows that during peak hours in the evening, only one Route 1 bus is in operation in one direction

Residents change their mode of transportation after the cancellation of bus stops

The straight-line distance from Xiyuan District 1 to Hanzhuang Township is about one kilometer. Residents of Hanzhuang Township have reported that the only bus route here, Route 18, has been suspended for one or two years. They either take an additional five to six hundred meters to the main road to take the bus, or simply change their travel habits.

Resident 1: Anyway, I haven't noticed any public transportation for a long time, so I usually don't take it very often. Either an electric bike or a bicycle.

Resident 2: Isn't there an online ride hailing service available? Let's take a ride.

Resident 3: You have to go out to the street corner to take the train to the train station.

There are many lines that have been suspended at the East Square of the train station

The local taxi driver told reporters that he carefully observed that since last year, there have been fewer and fewer buses on the road, and he has been pulling more and more passengers at the bus stop. "Because every time they wait here for the bus for half a day, they can't wait anymore. When they can't wait anymore, they take a taxi and then start complaining, 'I waited for half an hour' and 'I waited for an hour'... They all say that buses are definitely scarce."

Outage affects multiple train services

Passengers on buses such as the East Square of the train station

Baoding Public Transport Company: It is a last resort to significantly reduce vehicle shutdowns and increase intervals

A bus driver from Baoding You Road 1 said that during the evening rush hour, it takes as little as 20 minutes to get on the bus, with an average waiting time of about 40 minutes.

According to the announcement from Baoding Public Transport Co., Ltd., based on the current operating status of public transportation, there is currently no capacity to resume the operation of temporary suspended routes, including Route 18. With the availability of public transportation capacity and financial resources, the public transportation company needs to give priority to restoring the 23 temporarily suspended routes in the urban area to ensure the normal travel needs of citizens.

A staff member of Baoding Public Transport Company stated that the previous announcements were based on the actual situation they faced, and the difficulties mainly occurred more than a year ago. It was only recently reported by the media that the total number of buses in the city has decreased from over 1300 during peak hours to 333 now, which is less than a quarter of the capacity during peak hours. Therefore, the route can only be reduced. "Nowadays, there are no cars available, and the number of buses has decreased from over 1300 to 333. The batteries of over 800 buses are indeed not good, as they were a year and a half ago. Because bus companies themselves are not profit making units, we do want to rely on the financial subsidies provided by the city, but the subsidies have not been in place yet. Originally, the annual money was relatively abundant, so it would operate well."

The staff member said that the company is making every effort to report the situation to the superior department and hopes that the suspended lines can resume operation as soon as possible.