As the Spring Festival approaches in China, hundreds of millions of people head home to be with their families: this event represents the largest movement of human population in the world. Everyone, from workers to students, is preparing to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.
And the Chinese authorities are already talking about a new record. In fact, according to official figures, the Ministry of Transport has estimated that 3,158,000,000 people will be travelling by road, rail and plane. This is an increase of 9.1% compared to last year! And this peak will last 40 days, until the 16th February.
Around 2.8 billion, or 90% of the total, will be travelling by road. However, the Chinese government remains confident and has even declared that the coach transport system can handle this many people.
An enormous logistical challenge
840,000 coaches have thus been put into service, with 2.6 million departures planned every day. There has also been an increase in the number of trains.
This initiative is absolutely necessary given that one of Beijing’s largest transport hubs, the long-distance bus station, Liuliqiao, is already experiencing an influx of travellers.
However, this stampede to the stations cannot be avoided and, as is the case every year, it is very difficult to obtain tickets. “Buying a train ticket is like winning the lottery” confirmed one passenger!
A saturated ticketing system is to blame here. And this is despite this year’s major digital revolution in China: the implementation of an online reservation system. This platform will receive around 80 million visitors per day during the 40-day festive period.
Nevertheless, despite all these efforts, the Chinese railways are still unlikely to be able to cope with the enormous demand. “The huge volume of travellers has exceeded the capacity of our transport system. The situation is by no means optimistic.” admitted the head of the National Energy Administration to the South China Morning Post.
Intermodality is a theoretical term, one that is slightly abstract yet shows a common sense logic: it means combining several means of transport during the same journey, using different types of vehicles to get from A to Z. For example, train + car or bus + bicycle + walking, etc. This logic aims to rationalise the use of the car by offering relevant mobility alternatives. The objective is to make journeys smoother while reducing their carbon footprint.
As the keystone of sustainable mobility, intermodality and its corollary multimodality (which assumes a choice between several means of transport) are gradually being implemented in the cities of the world, from Shanghai to Singapore to Paris and provincial cities. Airports, stations and car parks are now being developed as "intermodal hubs" that offer access to different means of transport (underground, bus, taxi, car hire, etc.) thanks to adapted information and ticketing systems. This new way of organising transport necessitates the involvement of many players: public transport and car park operators, vehicle manufacturers and, above all, public authorities, which are the only ones capable of rolling out the infrastructure necessary for the intermodal system.
