Hike in fare not foul but could be fairer

Beijing residents have been paying among the lowest fares in the world for using public transport since 2007 - a public transport pass entitles a person to take a bus ride for just 0.4 yuan ($0.06) and a subway ride (except on the airport line) for only 2 yuan.

Therefore, a fare hike should not come as a surprise to commuters. But a hike in transport fares poses a problem: to what extent should they be raised. According to the Beijing local government's proposal, transport fares are expected to be doubled to bring the capital's fare structure closer to those in other major cities such as Shanghai, where commuters can end up paying up to 11 yuan for a one-way journey.

Understandably, many people in Beijing are opposed to a sharp hike, but it is necessary because of more than one reason. The Beijing government has given huge amounts of subsidies to local public transport enterprises over the years. It gave 20 billion yuan in subsidies in 2013 alone, not including the amount spent on repairs of railways and bus stops, whereas the transport enterprises earned only 5.8 billion yuan through ticket sales, and could barely pay their employees' salaries.

Given the poor revenues that most transport enterprises earn, many have begun to question the sustainability of such a financial support system, especially because Beijing will continue to expand its giant public transport network over the next few years, which, in turn, will push up operating costs on all subway lines and bus routes.

In such circumstances, it would become even more difficult for the Beijing government to continue giving subsidies to cover the increasing costs, including those for maintenance of old and construction of new subway lines.