The bus stops parallel with the platform, with no more than five centimeters of error. The bus is equipped with five surveillance cameras and a black box in the front that records all operating data.
With the "five advanced" goals of new type, speediness, modernity, intelligence and aesthetics of today's BRT, reporters could not help but explore the reasons why Xiamen selected "low energy consumption, low pollution, low investment, low land occupancy and low bus fare" as features of the BRT.

To lessen the heavy traffic burden, Xiamen initially had considered subway or light rail, because Xiamen, as a central city at the western coast of the Strait, should have far-reaching consideration for its urban construction.

However, in view of its annual 22 billion yuan fiscal revenue, the Xiamen Municipal Party Committee and the Xiamen Municipal Government made repeated calculations: for the construction of every 1 kilometer of subway the investment is 500-600 million yuan and for light rail its 150-200 million yuan.

Since Xiamen's geological structure is complicated, the construction of a subway features high difficulty, a long construction period, large investment, insufficient passenger volume and high operating costs. A light rail has similar drawbacks.

Following repeated investigation and study, BRT became the final choice because of its high passenger transit capacity, fast speed, convenience, punctuality, comfort, safety, low energy consumption and low pollution.

The BRT's construction and operating costs are only one-tenth the costs for track transport. It is more important for a city with a population of less than three million that the BRT is fully able to address tough issues concerning the general public's journeys for the present time and even in the considerably long term.

To solve traffic conflicts between public buses and non-public vehicles, Xiamen has innovated and adopted a completely elevated road in urban areas so that the public buses enjoy the right to run in a totally closed road without traffic lights, ensuring speed, punctuality and safety.

To balance the demand for the time being and for future development, the design of the BRT's roads and bus stops have adopted the standards used in upgraded light rails, leaving room for future transformation. This has increased the budget accordingly by 200 million yuan. Residents in Xiamen say, "It is worthwhile!"

BRT has changed Xiamen: public transportation has become people's first choice for journeys and has promoted the integration of urban and rural areas

New life, new concepts! Prioritizing the public transport system, what changes has it brought to Xiamen?

No longer driving cars and taking company buses, instead taking public transportation has become a reality in Xiamen. Qian Fang, a graduate from Fuzhou University, works at a finance company in Xiamen. The BRT has allowed her to leave her car in her parking spot, her commuting time has been more than halved, and a round trip only costs her one yuan.

When the BRT was launched, to help more residents get to know the system, the municipal government gave out 40,000 free tickets to residents throughout the city and 10,000 50-yuan Xiamen E-Tong cards to residents along BRT lines.

Also, to makes things easier for residents, the bus companies opened 18 high-speed short-haul connecting bus lines to the BRT stops that transport BRT passengers to their communities, work places and other bus stops along BRT lines.

During the first half year of operation, the number of passengers increased from 40,000 per day to the present figure of nearly 180,000 per day, and the social benefits have begun to take effect.

Compared with cars, the amount of road space occupied by 100 BRT passengers is nearly nine times lower, saving five times the amount of fuel and lowering harmful emissions by as much as 15 times.

BRT has changed the distances of time and space in Xiamen, half-hour economic circles of residing in the city and going to work outside the city are beginning to form. The radius of the city has been expanded, and the integration process of urban and rural areas will also be advanced.

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