8 Midway Stops on Route to Beijing

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 ◆ 8 Midway Stops on Route to Beijing

Facing a low passenger load, Shanghai traffic authorities have decided to add eight midway stops along the Shanghai-Beijing shuttle bus route to pick up more commuters.

Three stops in Tianjin, Cangzhou in Hebei Province, and Jiangdu in Jiangsu Province, were set up along the once non-stop highway route on recently. Five other stops, including Taian in Shandong Province and Wuxi in Jiangsu Province, will be added soon, officials said.

Long-distance highway buses were earlier not allowed to stop en route to pick up passengers.

"Shuttle buses can only stop at the midway stations for a maximum of 15 minutes," said Wu Runyuan of the Shanghai Land Transportation Administration Office. "Companies engaging in the Beijing-Shanghai long-distance route can choose at the most three stops between Shanghai and Beijing."

"Adding stops will not prolong the time between Shanghai and Beijing, but the key for the companies is to ensure that the shuttle buses are on time, so that passengers can hail the long-distance buses when they arrive," Wu added. Currently, the Shanghai-Beijing route takes 14-15 hours one-way.