Olympic Beijing to start public transport for physically disabled

BEIJING -- Beijing will put more buses modified for the physically challenged into service and replace all subway cars running on its two downtown routes with new ones in an effort to improve public transportation for next year's Beijing Olympics.

Beijing Metro, which operates the city's 200-km urban rail network, plans to put 120 new subway cars on Line 1 before June 2008, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. The trunk route links the east and west as it passes Tian'anmen Square in central Beijing.

Another 144 new cars will run on Line 2, the loop line around Beijing's city proper, he said.

The first of the new cars has arrived in Beijing and will start a 5,000-km test run on Wednesday to check for safety.

The new subway car, 114 meters long and 2.8 meters wide, can accommodate a maximum of 1,820 people and has LED screens to display weather information and results of the Olympic events, according to the spokesman.

He said the new cars are air-conditioned and have better ventilation systems. Each one has four wheelchair lifts and wheelchair-designated spaces.

To help the physically challenged get around the city, Beijing will put an additional 2,500 buses geared for the disabled into service before the end of this year, the Beijing Public Transportation Group said.

"By then, Beijing will be having nearly 4,000 buses for the physically challenged, about a quarter of its bus fleet," said Feng Xingfu, vice managing director of the group.

The group will also put 50 lithium battery-powered buses in service in the Olympic Village, the Olympic Media Village and the Olympic Central District before March, 2008, said Feng.

The Beijing government has earmarked four billion yuan (US$513 million) to boost public transport and ease congestion since last year. Currently, 90 percent of roads are operating at full capacity in the city with over 3 million motor vehicles and 4.13 million drivers.

By 2010, the government hopes 40 percent of Beijingers would choose public transport as their primary means of transportation, up from 28 percent reported in 2005.