Beijing is working on another two BRT (bus rapid transit) lines after the first line was put into operation last year, in a bid to extend the city's BRT lines to 60 km before the opening of the 2008 Olympics.

The capital city has taken the lead in China and among developing countries in its development of a BRT system, with international business leaders expressing their appreciation of the city's efforts on Friday.

Beijing's first BRT line has 90 18-meter long buses that are able to carry 145,000 people every day.

"It's fantastic!" Bryan P. Taylor, CEO of ZF South Africa Branch told China Daily.

The veteran businessman, who deals in key parts supporting BRT systems, expressed his surprise on seeing China's rapid and smooth BRT development.

Line 1 is 16 km long with 17 stops running from Qianmen of the city center to Daxing, a district in the south of the city.

Featuring environmentally friendly engines, longer carriages, running on a special fenced-in lane and a lowered floor for easy and safe boarding, BRT buses run faster than their conventional counterparts thanks to a signal priority control system, an electronic information system, and automatic fare collection and operating systems.

The low-floor design enables the disabled to get on board easily and also shortens passengers' boarding time by one second per person.

The signal priority control system allows the BRT to run smoothly, with traffic lights automatically turning green when a bus is coming or remaining green as the bus passes by.

Currently, five cities including Hangzhou, Jinan, Kunming and Shenzhen are ready to introduce BRT and another four cities are applying for it.

(China Daily October 13, 2007)