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Discriminatory railway rule

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-09 15:45

The Ministry of Railways' decision to invalidate the ticket of a passenger who misses a train has triggered a heated public debate. The ministry should be taking steps to make train services more passenger-friendly rather than hurting their interests, says an article in Shanghai Evening News. Excerpts:

According to a recent Ministry of Railways' regulation, people who miss bullet trains can get a refund two hours after the train's departure, but passengers who miss other trains cannot.

This is not only a violation of passengers' rights, but also discrimination. It is shocking to see the ministry adopting a measure that will hurt poor passengers and favor well-off and rich travelers. The poor have no option but to travel on ordinary trains, and the rich almost always take the bullet trains.

After people criticized the move, the ministry tried to clarify that it had taken the decision to stop black-marketing of tickets by touts. But the railway authorities should have thought about the harm such a measure would cause to passengers. Why didn't they solicit public opinion before taking such a drastic step?

By treating different classes of passengers differently the ministry has shown that it lacks service ethics. The railways is developing at a fast pace, but its service leaves a lot to be desired.

Japan, too, has a huge population compared to its land area. But it doesn't take any step that would cause inconvenience to ordinary passengers.

The railways in China, first and foremost, is public service. And the ministry should know that building faster trains is not the only way to serve the public.

The ministry needs to rethink its service mode. It should certainly introduce faster trains but more importantly it should make travel more convenient for all passengers.