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A subscription bus service is gaining popularity with commuters in Beijing, especially private car owners, the service provider says. The service gives commuters the chance to avoid crowded subway carriages and buses on work days, with higher fares than the regular bus service and a set timetable and destinations. It has attracted 1,600 commuters on its 27 routes since the first route was launched on Sept 9, Beijing Public Transport Holdings said. Commuters can subscribe to the service three days in advance. The fare for a distance of 20 km, for example, is 15 yuan ($2.50), while the same trip by taxi costs about 100 yuan. Based on research into predicted demand, 62 routes to 31 destinations, with 168 stops, will be launched in the future, the company said. A survey of subscribers shows that 60 percent of customers for the shuttle bus service are private car drivers. Passenger-use on a route from the Huilongguan area in northern Beijing to Zhongguancun, an information technology hub in the northwest of the capital, has reached 75 percent. Equipped with air conditioning and free Wi-Fi, the service ensures a seat for every commuter and can use exclusive bus lanes, reducing traveling time significantly for rush-hour commuters. A man named Guo, who works in the central business district, said that before he took the subscription bus service, he used to drive his car from the Wangjing area and had to pay about 50 yuan to park every day. | 
