City charts course for public transport

  THE city will start planning two or three BRT (bus rapid transit) routes this year and build 10 BRT routes on Banyin Passage and Xincai Passage by 2015, the transport commission said in a press release yesterday.

    The two passages, which link downtown Shenzhen with Longgang and Bao’an districts, are expected to greatly relieve the transport congestion.

    Also this year, the city will add 150-km bus lanes and 50 lanes for bicycles, Huang Min, chief of the commission, said in a draft which outlines the city’s goal to build a City of Public Transport within five years.

    The city had been chosen by the Ministry of Transport to pilot a City of Public Transport and plans would be submitted to the ministry for approval.

    The city would also study the feasibility of introducing high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and adopt a new land development mode guided by public transport, Huang said. The city would add or renew 1,000 buses, promote shuttle buses during rush hours, and open 70 bus routes connecting Metro stations this year.

    The coverage of bus stations within 500 meters would reach 83 percent this year and 100 percent by 2015.

    Two or three bus terminals would be established in each subdistrict by 2015. Branch buses would connect communities, commercial areas, big enterprises and public facilities by 2015.

    During the 12th Five-Year Program, the city will establish a land reserve mechanism for public transport and the construction of bus terminals would be given priority in land development. The planning of transport facilities for buses, taxis and bicycles would coincide with the construction of Metro lines. By 2015, 36 bus terminals linking Metro stations within a distance of 50 meters would be established.

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