Li Jianlong, the driver of No. 812 Road of the Fifth Passenger Transport Branch of Beijing Public Transport Group. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Guibin.
Profile: Li Jianlong.
Beijing-Hebei inter-provincial bus driver.
Driver of No. 812 No. 5 Passenger Transport Branch of Beijing Public Transport Group.
In the past 14 years, Li Jianlong drove the No. 812 bus, transporting batches of commuters in the twin cities who "slept in Yanjiao and dreamed of Beijing". As an inter-provincial bus driver, he has witnessed the development and changes of transportation between Beijing and Hebei.
Living in Hebei and working in Beijing, commuting 70 or 80 kilometers back and forth every day, this seemingly incredible life trajectory has become an "option" for more people because of the accelerated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei transportation integration.
Li Jianlong, a native of Sanhe, Hebei Province, is the driver of No. 812 of the Fifth Passenger Transport Branch of Beijing Public Transport Group, and it is his daily job to carry passengers between Beijing and Yanjiao, so he has insisted on it for more than ten years.
For him, this profession is not only an inter-provincial bus driver, but also a "dream ferryman" who provides travel convenience for tens of thousands of Yanjiao Beipiao. On the way back and forth, he has seen the development of his hometown and looks forward to closer transportation links between the two places.
Around 2014, inter-provincial commuters began to fill their carriages.
At half past five in the morning, the second fleet of the No. 5 Beijing Public Transport Branch in Sanhe City, Hebei Province was already brightly lit. As usual, Li Jianlong completed the pre-shift meeting, vehicle inspection, alcohol test and other work in the team in advance, and started the day's operation.
In the early morning of January 29, 2024, Li Jianlong was checking the tires of a bus in preparation for a day's operational work. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Guibin.
Beijing Bus No. 812 is an inter-provincial bus line serving the three northern counties, mainly for working passengers, with an average daily passenger volume of nearly 7,000 passengers. From Yanjiao Bus Terminal to Bawangfen West, there are 13 stations, 12 of which are in Hebei Province. After about four or five stops, the bus will be full, and when it reaches the last stop in the Yanjiao area, the "Chaobai Community", the carriage can carry more than 60 people at most. In order to meet the capacity demand, the interval between the 812 routes has been shortened to four or five minutes during the morning rush hour.
After Li Jianlong came to Beijing Public Transport Group, he has been running inter-provincial routes, initially driving bus No. 930, and later changed to No. 813. Around 2010, due to route adjustment and work needs, Li Jianlong was transferred to 812 Road. However, his work trajectory has always revolved around Beijing and Hebei, witnessing the changes on this route.
Li Jianlong recalled that the initial inter-provincial bus passenger flow was not much, until around 2014, with the official proposal of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development strategy, more and more people working in Beijing and living in the three northern counties, and the inter-provincial commuters who got up early in the morning and went home after dark began to fill the carriages.
In the past 14 years, Li Jianlong has to go back and forth to Beijing and Hebei several times a day, if it is the first train at 5:15 in the morning, he has to get up at 4 o'clock, arrive at the station in advance to check the vehicle, and ensure that the train departs on time.
In the early morning of January 29, 2024, Li Jianlong inspected the handrails and seats in the bus before departure. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Guibin.
What seems to others to be a monotonous and boring job has been done by him. He has figured out each link, which station along the way has more passengers, how long does it take to drive 38 kilometers one way, what time period is easy to congest, there will be risk points, and how to deal with emergencies......Li Jianlong knows it all.
As soon as the car door opens and closes, the busy life repeats itself.
Like many people, Li Jianlong has also thought about the meaning of work. The reason why the job of a driver has always made him full of enthusiasm is because of the "sense of gain" that is not known to others.
Because of the need to ensure safety, we don't communicate much with passengers, at most we just meet acquaintances to say hello, and greet everyone during the New Year's holidays. Most of the time, Li Jianlong's work is extremely dull, going back and forth between the two places, there are no ups and downs, and occasionally glimpses a few rays of brilliant sunset from the rearview mirror, even if it is a rare surprise on the way.
The city has changed, the car has changed, but the state of the passengers in Li Jianlong's car has not changed much. No matter how late the first day worked overtime and how tired they were on the way back to Yanjiao, the next morning, every bus stop along the line would be crowded with people, everyone looked up, waited for the bus to arrive, and sent them to their respective jobs.
In the early morning of January 29, 2024, many people were already queuing at the bus station, ready to take bus 812 to work. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Guibin.
As soon as the car door opens and closes, the busy life repeats itself. For these inter-provincial commuters, it seems that they only need to sleep to complete the "restart".
And Li Jianlong is like a human observer, watching all this on the way back and forth. I don't know when he fell in love with the job. One day, Li Jianlong saw a word in his mobile phone - dream ferryman, and at that moment, he saw himself from this word.
Being able to facilitate the travel of tens of thousands of Yanjiao Beipiao and help more young people realize their dreams in Beijing is the value that Li Jianlong has found for his career. Although he is not good at expressing this emotion, he just wants to do more for everyone.
Watching these inter-provincial commuters commute to work every day, many of them are young people, about the same age as my daughter, and their parents will definitely feel very distressed if they know that their children are going to catch the bus before dawn. Li Jianlong said, "What I can do is to drive the car as smoothly as possible, so that everyone can rest a little more in the car and go to work safely." ”
Such an attitude has made Li Jianlong recognized by many passengers and has gained more honors. He is the winner of the May Day Labor Medal in the capital, and in 2023, he was also selected as one of the 100 "most beautiful bus drivers" in the country. However, what he is most concerned about is that driven by the integration of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei transportation, passengers can travel more smoothly, and his hometown Sanhe can also develop rapidly.
Li Jianlong drove the No. 812 bus to deliver passengers safely to their destinations. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Guibin.
The wheels don't stop, the dreams don't stop.
Sleeping in Yanjiao, dreaming of Beijing" is the daily life of many inter-provincial commuters, and it is also the inherent impression of many people on the three northern counties. The three northern counties refer to Sanhe City, Xianghe County, and Dachang Hui Autonomous County under the jurisdiction of Langfang City, Hebei Province, and Yanjiao, which is known as Yanjiao, is a town under the jurisdiction of Sanhe City. Yanjiao is across the river from Tongzhou, Beijing, and is known as the "sleeping city" around Beijing, attracting thousands of Beipiao to settle down or live here temporarily.
For Li Jianlong, the work of an inter-provincial bus driver has allowed him to see the development of his hometown. With more residents, many locals have found jobs at their doorsteps, the city's infrastructure is becoming more and more perfect, and some Beijing businesses and schools have moved here, making it very convenient to live in Yanjiao. "The future of Yanjiao must not be a 'sleeping city', and there will be more possibilities for urban development. Li Jianlong always felt so.
At the end of 2022, the Jingtang Intercity Railway will be opened, and it will take half an hour from Yanjiao to Beijing Railway Station by bullet train; At the junction of Beijing and Hebei, the Chaobai River Bridge is under construction, which will be completed and opened to traffic in September 2024, connecting Beijing Tongzhou and Hebei Dachang; In 2025, Beijing Metro Line 22 (Pinggu Line) is expected to connect the central urban area of Beijing, the sub-center of Beijing, Yanjiao of Hebei Province and Pinggu of Beijing, fulfilling the ten-year subway dream of Yanjiao commuters.
With more travel options, road conditions will definitely be better for morning rush hour commutes in the future, and congestion will be alleviated. Li Jianlong often pays attention to the increasingly close transportation links between his hometown and Beijing from the news, and hopes that every passenger in his car can commute more smoothly across provinces.
On January 29, 2024, the No. 812 bus driven by Li Jianlong stopped next to the platform, waiting for passengers to board the bus one after another. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Guibin.
In 1996, the first cross-city bus line of Beijing Public Transport Group was put into operation. Today, the Beijing Public Transport Group has expanded to 25 inter-provincial bus lines serving the three northern counties, carrying an average of 14 commuters per day50,000 people.
The buses driven by Li Jianlong have also become safer and more comfortable. The car is equipped with an intelligent safety reminder system, which can escort passengers on their commuting journey at all times; The inter-provincial buses from the three northern counties to Beijing have also been included in the intelligent regional dispatch, and the on-time arrival rate of buses has increased from 55% to 70%.
On the way between Beijing and the three northern counties, the wheels of the inter-provincial bus kept turning, and Li Jianlong and his passengers never stopped.
Beijing News reporter Pei Jianfei.
Edited by Liu Mengjie.
Proofread by Yanjun Zhang.