OLYMPICS /
Olympic Nation
Beijing tightens bus security
By Cui Xiaohuo
Updated: 2008-07-30 14:49
Beijing will upgrade security check for more than 20,000 buses citywide starting from Thursday.
Up to six thousand additional security staff will ride with the buses, which have only one driver on board, said Feng Qingfu, deputy general manager of the Beijing Bus Company.
Ticket officers will be in charge to identify suspicious passengers, while more than 30,000 transport liaisons will watch over the bus stops and terminals.
“Suspicious bags and suspicious personnel will not be allowed on the buses,” said Feng.
Feng also said the security check procedures for buses will not be like the ones implemented in subway stations or airport terminals. No bags will be opened during the security check.
“Security staff will only watch, smell and enquire. Some will use security scanners,” he said. “If there is a suspicion, they can also report at once to the police”
Beijing’s buses are running at its biggest capacity. The city now has 18,000 buses on the road each day, and 13 million commuters are taking them. But the number of passengers is increasing by one million each day with just over a week to the start of the Games.
The company also equipped a emergency command vehicle watching over the safety of 34 Olympic bus routes.
