Front Page of the Day

The lowest subway fare in China

xinjingbao092707.jpg
The Beijing News
September 27, 2007
The top headline in The Beijing News today announces the results of a hearing on subway fares.

Eighty percent of citizen representatives agreed with a proposal to implement a flat fare of two yuan, which would replace the current system in which ticket prices on different lines range between two and 5 yuan. However, there are still questions as to how the drop in prices will affect ridership numbers; some representatives were concerned that rider safety could be threatened. On the question of whether to cancel the current monthly ticket system, ninety percent of representatives voiced their support. Currently, around 170,000 monthly passes are in circulation, but many of these are reportedly not in the hands of the people who need them most.

All opinions will be reported to relevant Beijing government departments. "Hopefully, the final decision will be made before October," said the deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Development & Reform Commission, "and after falling, we might have the lowest subway fares in China."

The front page photo shows a construction accident that occurred yesterday at Huawei Bridge on the East Third Ring Road. Three workers were in a well when it caved in. Two escaped but one remains buried in unknown condition.

Other headlines:
• According to insider news, new regulation are to be issued raising interest rates on second home loans to 10%; down payments are expected to rise to 40%;
• The Beijing Education Committee issued a new exam scheme for high school students yesterday that provides some relief to freshmen;
• A public health station in Tongzhou District was found to be injecting dogs with a fake rabies vaccine. The case has been turned over to the police.

There are currently 1 Comments for The lowest subway fare in China.

Comments on The lowest subway fare in China

Currently, around 170,000 monthly passes are in circulation, but many of these are reportedly not in the hands of the people who need them most.

why not raise the per fare price and simply print as many monthly tickets as market demand will allow? or would this violate the fundamental economic principles of market-socialism?

Post a comment

All comments are moderated and subject to review by Danwei contributors and editors, but well-grounded and articulate comments will be published regardless of which way they lean. Because comments published on any website ultimately contribute to the character of that website, we may decline to publish comments that are irrelevant, redundant, or that do not adhere to generally accepted standards of courtesy; if you are looking for a fight, there are plenty of other venues available online.


Some useful html: <b>bold</b>, <i>italic</i>,
<a href="http://www.danwei.org">link</a>

Media Partners
Visit these sites for the latest China news
090609guardian2.png 090609CNN3.png
China Media Timeline
Major media events over the last three decades
Danwei Model Workers
laomo2008fpA.jpg
Recommended blogs and new media
Books on China
AXL100219hktales.jpg
Tales of Old Hong Kong: The new Tales of Old Hong Kong compiled by Derek Sandhaus is available at Earnshaw Books.
Diamond Hill by Feng Chi-shun: Feng's memoir Diamond Hill describes an era of gambling and gangsters, Suzie Wong and squatter villages, fires and food stalls, and the Kowloon Walled City and its white powder. "A time when people were poor, but life was rich," he says. The world that he grew up in no longer exists, but his book - the first ever on the Diamond Hill refugee settlement, in either Chinese or English - offers a candid picture of what life was like for most Hong Kong residents in the 1950s.
William A. Callahan's China: The Pessoptimist Nation: China: The Pessoptimist Nation shows how the heart of Chinese foreign policy is not a security dilemma, but an identity dilemma. Through a careful analysis of how Chinese people understand their new place in the world, the book charts how Chinese identity emerges through the interplay of positive and negative feelings in a dynamic that intertwines China's domestic and international politics.
Front Page of the Day
A different newspaper every weekday
From the Vault
Classic Danwei posts
+ Freedom of expression and government reform (2008.05): Zi Zhongyun (资中筠) talks of the need for institutional guarantees for free speech.
+ Trend-spotting in online fiction (2007.06): An interview with Daniel Dan Fei (丹飞), publisher of Notes on Graverobbing (盗墓笔记), Rear Palace (后宫), and Those Ming Dynasty Things (明朝那些事).
+ The Three Stooges in China (2004.09): "Can you do the laugh?" I ask him. "You know, that laugh?" He nods. He knows what I'm talking about. "Nyuk nyuk nyuk!" he suddenly erupts, in an imitation of Curly so compelling that I'm suddenly transported from Beijing to my family's living room floor in Eureka, Kansas, circa 1959...
Danwei Archives
Danwei Feeds
Via Feedsky rsschiclet2.png (on the mainland)
or Feedburner rsschiclet.gif (blocked in China)
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Main feed: Main posts (FB has top links)
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Top Links: Links from the top bar
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Danwei Jobs: Want ads
rsschiclet2.png rsschiclet.gif Danwei Digest: Updated daily, 19:30