Community buses gain popularity

Passengers line up to get on B661, a community bus on a route in Nanshan District. Xie Liwen

As of Monday, the community buses had served a total of 52,000 passengers after a week’s operation, according to data released by Shenzhen Bus Group.

The Daily Sunshine reported that the average daily passenger flow of the first batch of community buses has been growing and the service has earned praises from residents.

The new community buses are aimed at connecting with Metro stations and major bus routes, as well as serving shorter trips. Citizens can wave to get on the buses, and press a bell to get off the buses at request stops along the bus routes.

The buses run on eight short routes in Futian, Yantian, Nanshan and Longgang districts.

Three of the routes, namely B660 in Longgang, B667 and B661 in Nanshan, saw the highest passenger flows.

An insider attributed this to the fact that the top three bus routes have perfectly met passengers’ demand, with reasonable bus timetables and bus fares.

Buses operating on the three routes have a three-minute interval during peak hours. The buses normally run a route of around 2 kilometers, with commute times less than 10 minutes. The same distance, however, would take 20 to 25 minutes on foot and 10 to 15 minutes by bike.

The bus fare is only 1 yuan (US$0.15) per person.

The other five bus routes are: B666 in Futian, B662 in Yantian, B668 and B669 in Nanshan and B663 in Longgang.