In the New Year, go to the grassroots alley bus

Mondo Social Updated on 2024-02-05

At 10:10 a.m. on January 23, I came to the Daxigou Jingyuan bus station in Yuzhong District, Chongqing.

This is the starting point of the 3209 alley bus.

Waiting here with me was an old man dragging a small cart with a vegetable basket.

My name is Zuo Ruifang and I am 82 years old. In the midst of small talk, the old man told me, "The alley has a good public transport, which is especially convenient for us seniors." ”

The car entered the station, the old man easily got on the bus, and I followed.

Different from traditional buses, this alley bus has a low chassis - convenient for the elderly and children to get on and off the bus, and handrails are also installed at the doors; There is not a lot of space in the car - only 11 seats; The line is very short - only passing through 8 stations such as Renmin Branch Road, Zengjiayan and Zhongshan 4th Road Intersection, and the whole journey takes only more than 20 minutes.

Zuo Ruifang lives in the old community of the People's Branch Road, and often goes to the Daxigou vegetable market to buy vegetables. Although there is only one stop from Daxigou to Renmin Branch Road, there is a steep slope of more than 45 degrees along the way. Due to her sciatica, Zuo Ruifang could not walk, and she had to walk for half an hour after a four- or five-minute drive.

Chongqing, known as the "8D Magic City", is a typical mountain in the city and the city in the mountains.

In the past, some back streets and alleys could not be entered by traditional buses due to limited conditions, and residents basically relied on walking, such as the Daxigou Jingyuan-Renmin Branch Road.

The roads are wide and narrow, and there is no difference in demand. Only by breaking through the blockages and meeting the needs can we better polish the background color of public transportation for the people.

Chongqing Municipal Transportation Commission, Chongqing State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and Chongqing Public Transport Holding (Group)** have joined forces to solve the problem of "the first kilometer" and "last kilometer" of public travel.

In 2020, the concept of "alley bus" was released.

With a small body and high departure frequency, the route is tailored for the travel of residents along the route in combination with road conditions, community occupancy rate and residents' travel needs. According to the relevant person in charge of Chongqing Public Transport Group, "the vehicle is pure electric vehicles, which is not only environmentally friendly, but also adapts to narrow road conditions." The ticket price is 2 yuan, and other preferential policies such as free rides for seniors over 65 years old and free one-hour transfer of public transportation in the central city can be enjoyed here. ”

In August 2021, the 3209 alley bus was opened. For more than two years, the 3209 alley bus has been iteratively upgraded, from the initial 7 to 11, and service facilities such as convenient USB charging ports have been added.

The alley bus is becoming more and more aware of everyone's hearts. The relevant person in charge of Chongqing Public Transport Group said.

During the conversation, the carriage of the bus in the alley of No. 3209 became lively, and the elderly people dragging vegetable baskets as far as the eye could see.

There are a lot of elderly people at this point, and they all go home to cook after buying vegetables. The driver, Zuo Zhiwei, greeted several elderly people familiarly and helped them carry the vegetable baskets to the car, "Some passengers often see each other, and everyone has become friends." ”

Before driving the 3209 alley bus, Zuo Zhiwei has been driving the 829 traditional bus and has 10 years of driving experience. After the opening of the alley bus, due to the narrow, steep slopes and sharp bends along the way, "experience" has become one of the most important criteria for selecting drivers, and Zuo Zhiwei also got this opportunity.

At 10:18, the 3209 alley bus closed the door and departed on time.

After a sharp turn of 90 degrees, the 3209 alley bus turned into the back street, and I also saw the "steep slope" in Zuo Ruifang's mouth - a narrow two-lane road, the road extends upward, and there seems to be no end in sight.

In addition to the old community, there are most schools on this route, including People's Primary School, Renhe Street Primary School, Qiujing Middle School, etc. Before the departure, Zuo Zhiwei told me that in addition to the elderly, students are also frequent visitors on this line, "The bus at 7 o'clock at the earliest was almost full of students, but now they are all on vacation."

If the riders are mainly elderly and students, will the line be profitable? "I'm a little curious.

The daily operating volume of a car is about 250 yuan, and the expenses such as electricity bills and daily wear and tear of the vehicle are also removed. Zuo Zhiwei calculated the account, "But the alley bus is not only to make money, but mainly to facilitate the travel of residents." ”

Chongqing has opened nearly 40 lines in the central urban area like this: No. 3505 to and from Liangjiang Mingju and Caijia Station in Beibei District, which is the favorite of office workers; Route 3222 connects Shijingpo Station and Jialing Hospital in Shapingba District, as well as Binjiang No. 1 and Binjiang Shou'an, benefiting more than 20,000 residents in the surrounding ......These lines have initially established a "first mile" and "last mile" community travel network, carrying more than 50,000 passengers per day.

In September 2023, Alley Bus was selected as a "Typical Case of Priority Development and Green Travel of Urban Public Transport" by the Ministry of Transport.

At 10:42, the 3209 alley bus I took was about to reach the end, and the carriage returned to quiet from bustle.

I suddenly had some feelings, this interview was not arranged in advance, I met the most ordinary passengers, and what I heard were the most real voices of residents: 68-year-old Lao Yang likes to take the 3209 alley bus to Daxigou to buy groceries, drink tea, kill time, every time he takes the car, he will always habitually hit the card twice, get on the bus once, get off the bus once, and enjoy his slow-paced old life; Regarding the opening of the alley bus, 75-year-old Granny Wang called out, "It's so convenient, I didn't expect that I would climb the hill for most of my life, and now I can take the bus directly to the door of the house......".

At present, the city is developing and the traffic is speeding up, but people's happiness about travel, I think it has to be the simple sentence - there is a way to go out, and you can get on the bus with your feet.

Chongqing has been working hard for it.

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