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Download Political advisers in Beijing are calling on decision-makers to take into account the needs of commuters and students when revising the flat-rate fare for subway journeys in the capital. They say any increase in the flat-rate fare, while potentially easing heavy passenger flows during peak hours, should not harm subway users who have no other travel options for their daily journeys - particularly those on low incomes. The issue of fare revision has been a key topic for debate at the Plenary Session of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which wrapped up on Sunday. During the session, Zhu Liang, a member of the committee, said "the subway fare should not increase beyond what people can afford." The adjustment of metro fares should be studied further and be based mainly on the mileage one travels, while the ceiling should be no higher than 9 yuan ($1.5), he said. Beijing's current flat-rate subway fare of 2 yuan, which allows passengers to ride on any line and make transfers, is even cheaper than 15 years ago, when it was first increased to 3 yuan in 1999. The fare was reduced to 2 yuan in 2007 to encourage public transportation and ease road congestion. The capital currently has 456 kilometers of subway lines in operation, carrying 10 million passengers daily. Zhu said an increase in subway fares would encourage the public to resort to the subway only for longer journeys, using buses instead for short journeys, thus easing peak-hour flows on the subway. | 
