Cheap, cheerful, but dangerous

In February 2006, Wang drove a sleeper bus to Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. He was relieved to reach his destination after a grueling eight-hour drive, but his tight schedule meant he had to return to Yuexi that same evening. After dinner, Wang began a return journey that almost killed him and his 20 passengers.

He said the overnight drive was exhausting and around 1 am he began traversing the winding, fog-blanketed roads of his county. The sight of the passengers fast asleep made Wang feel drowsy and eventually he nodded off. Suddenly, he awoke and got the shock of his life - the bus was only six or seven meters from the edge of the road that led over a steep cliff. Luckily, Wang was able to turn the steering wheel and prevent disaster.

"The passengers and I would have died that night if I had woken one second later," he said. "I dared not tell them what happened when the bus arrived. If I had died, that would have been fine, because it was my error. But I couldn't forgive myself if the passengers had died because of my negligence," he said.

After the incident, Wang refused to drive the overnight shift alone and always traveled with a partner.

In 2007, new regulations came into effect in Anhui province that required two drivers to be on duty simultaneously on long-distance buses, especially sleeper buses. In 2008, the buses were forbidden in the county and Wang changed his profession.

According to the traffic management department of the Ministry of Public Security, 14 out of 27 highway accidents that killed 10 or more people last year occurred in the early morning or after lunchtime, when drivers began to tire. Meanwhile last year, the Ministry of Transport stipulated that all sleeper buses should have a video surveillance system installed and that buses should not operate between 2 am and 5 am.

However, Wang Dongming, the researcher, said the time restrictions are not feasible because passengers always rush to reach their destinations and bus companies always look to maximize profits.

Pictures relayed from the video surveillance system on the bus that crashed in Yan'an on Sunday appeared to show that the driver, Chen Qiang, was extremely fatigued before the accident occurred, according to reports on China Central Television.

Chu Chenggen, 32, a former sleeper bus driver who is also from Yuexi county, said most of his colleagues continued to drive if they did not feel tired after their four-hour stint. "That's when most of the accidents happened," he said.

"The passengers don't want to stop and waste time. They always complained if I rested for a while on the highway," he said.

Stricter measures

On March 1, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology halted the production and sale of sleeper buses and the Ministry of Public Security refused to register them for use.

Experts said the authorities should better manage the operation of sleeper buses and the operating companies should make greater efforts to ensure passenger safety.

Wang Dongming warned that the immediate outlawing of sleeper buses would have a negative economic impact because the industry employs thousands of drivers and serves thousands of passengers.

"To solve the problem, we should use market forces. By promulgating stricter measures, the cost of operating sleeper buses would increase and eradicate the price advantage," said Wang. "If higher prices meant that people didn't choose sleeper buses, the business would die out."

Chu Chenggen suggested that the government should increase investment in more secure means of transport, such as rail. "As our economy grows, I believe the transport system will become increasingly efficient and the range of choices will improve and offer more than just sleeper buses," he said.

Mo Jingxi contributed to this report.

Contact the reporters at huyongqi@chinadaily.com.cn or wuwencong@chinadaily.com.cn