Beijing metro ticket to remain at two yuan

The price for a one-way metro ticket in Beijing will remain at two yuan as the city plans to continue the low-price policy to attract more people to public transport.

The statement, released by Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, came days after a proposal to raise the metro ticket price to five to six yuan in a bid to reduce the passenger flow during rush hours by Chen Jie, city's political advisor and deputy director of Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, was made public.

Chen noted in his proposal early this year that metro ticket price should be raised for those who didn't use public transport IC card during rush hours from Monday to Friday, while the price for IC card users would remain at two yuan. The price measure could limit the passenger crowding and help reduce the number of tourists and shoppers during rush hours.

The proposal caused strong public reactions once it was made public. People held that the metro ticket should be just and fare and the price levels be changed with great caution.

The Municipal Commission of Development and Reform made it clear yesterday that metro ticket price in Beijing would remain at two yuan. Relevant departments will jointly work out a series of measures to reduce the pressure from large number of passengers by further boosting metro efficiency, reducing passengers' waiting times, purchasing more metro trains and speeding up metro construction.

By People's Daily Online