Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei unite to manage area transport amid virus

Transport authorities in Beijing, Tianjin and neighboring Hebei province have set up an information-sharing mechanism to ensure smooth transportation services in the region while efforts to prevent and control novel coronavirus infections continue.

The efforts guarantee work will be carried out in a coordinated manner in various transportation channels such as highways, railways and aviation, according to a recent plan created by transportation organs in the three areas.

Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei border each other in North China and started an integrated development project six years ago.

According to the plan, special vehicles will pick up migrant workers and send them directly to their work places in the region. The three areas will gradually restore normal inter-province transportation services for passengers.

But vehicles transporting passengers can use no more than half their capacity, only use designated roads and stop at permitted stations to avoid transmission of the virus during trips, the plan said.

"We share information about traffic conditions and passing vehicles and passengers with our counterparts in Beijing to jointly fight against the virus," Liu Daogang, deputy director of the Tianjin Municipal Transportation Commission, was quoted as saying in a report by China Transport News.

For example, at one of Tianjin's check sites in Jizhou district, which borders Beijing's Pinggu district, an inspector will call his counterpart in Pinggu and ask if certain passengers under special conditions can be allowed to enter the capital given their information.

As for car-for-hire services, Hebei has stopped taxis and online ride-hailing vehicles from sending passengers to the capital since March 3, echoing a similar policy imposed by Beijing that was rolled out at the end February, the report said.

Transport authorities in the three areas are also cooperating to guarantee the transportation of daily necessities, including vegetables and instant food.

As efforts to prevent and control cross-infection of the virus continue, the construction of key transport projects in the region-especially those related to the region's integrated development, Xiongan New Area, the 2022 Winter Olympics and poverty alleviation-are gradually resuming.

Construction of transportation projects, including an expressway linking Beijing and Xiongan New Area in Hebei, will be carried out as scheduled this year, according to the plan.