(BEIJING, August 14) -- Low fares for public transport in Beijing are not a stopgap measure Zhou Zhengyu, deputy director and spokesperson of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications, announced Wednesday at a press conference at the Main Press Center in Beijing.
Zhou's statement was in response to a question raised by a reporter from the Peoples Daily who asked Zhou to address Beijing residents’ concern that the city's low fare public transportation policy was a temporary measure. Deputy director Zhou assured those present that the current fare level in Beijing's metro and bus systems has been implemented as part of Beijing's transport system development strategy and will not expire at the end of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As to what additional measures should be adopted for the Beijing transportation system's future development, Zhou told reporters: "We encourage Beijing citizens to use public transport as much as possible during the two peak periods on an average working day. And with our policy of giving top priority to public transport, we will place our efforts mainly on developing our light rail and subway systems."
