Each bus riding on Guangzhou streets will be installed with video cameras to increase commuter safety, Guangzhou-based Nanfang Daily reported yesterday.

All the cameras on buses will link to the city-wide inspection network. Drivers can also watch the happenings on their bus via screens on a panel, the newspaper said.

Since the city has banned motorcycles on its streets, partly to prevent motorcyclists from robbing pedestrians and speeding away, local residents began to worry that criminals may move onto buses to stay in "business," the report said.

Xian Weixiong, director of Guangzhou's traffic committee, said the monitoring system will improve public security on buses.

Guangzhou also installed global positioning systems in some of its taxis, which can trace their routes. If a driver receives a complaint of taking a longer route than normal, the system will help the taxi management authority make a judgment, Xian said.

Drivers will be severely punished ranging from a fine of 1,000 yuan (US$128) to license revocations if they take passengers on longer than normal routes, he added.

(Shanghai Daily January 9, 2007)