About 1,700 of them commute on the buses, doing interpretation for the drivers and fleet coordinators and answering journalists' questions. The rest help traffic police officers on the road -- pointing ways to bus drivers and pedestrians near the MPC/IBC.

Wei Donghui from south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region felt her job was "very important".

"Most people are new in this area, as you know," she said of the media buses' parking lot across the street from the IBC. "My job is to tell journalists where to catch their buses and show the bus drivers which lanes to take and where to park."

The engineering major from Beijing-based Communication University of China is new herself in this area -- she's in Beijing for a year but never visited the Olympic area before she became a volunteer. When no one at sight needs help, she would peruse a map in her hand trying to remember all the places.

"I'll be here until the end of August... no chance to go home this year," she said. "But it's worthwhile to do something for the Games -- and my parents said they were proud of me, too."

Making way for the Games

To avoid congestions over the Games, Beijing has sealed off a long fleet of government vehicles and halved the number of private cars on its roads by banning cars with odd-even numbers on alternate days.

Meanwhile, special lanes painted with the Olympic logo have been earmarked on key roads. The 285.7-km lanes will be reserved for Games vehicles until Sept. 20 and drivers of non-authorized vehicles will face a fine if they drive onto these lanes.

"Sometimes I really get impatient when I have to wait in long queues, unable to use the Olympic lane even if it's empty," said Chen Jianfei, a dentist in Beijing. "But generally speaking, the waiting time is shorter than before, as about half of the private cars have been taken off the roads."

Chen, who has a vehicle plate ending with an odd number, hitchhikes to work with a colleague on even number days. "We'd be happy to continue like this if the ban on odd-even numbers becomes permanent."

Li Jing, who lives close to the Olympic Village, complained her 15-minute drive to work at the Beijing Science and Technology University had been prolonged to an hour. "I have to make a detour on the outer ring -- the fourth or fifth ring. When I don't drive, I have to wait for at least 20 minutes to get on a bus."

Beijing transport authorities said the city had brought an additional 2,000 buses to the fleet, hoping to increase frequency and shorten the waiting time.

But too many buses pulling in at roadside stops sometimes occupy two lanes and cause new bottlenecks during peak hours.

Transport authorities said that on roads where special lanes for Olympic vehicles and for public transport co-exist, the lanes for buses are open to all vehicles.

"Driving onto the bus lane? No way. I have to wait a good 10 minutes for the buses lining in front of me to drive onto their lane and pull in at their stops," said Yu Min, a software engineer.

A Beijing traffic official thanked the citizens for being understanding and supportive on Tuesday. Reports of traffic jams and accidents have been cut by 78.8 percent and 47.1 percent respectively since the July 20 start of traffic control, said vice director of Beijing Traffic Management Bureau Wang Li.

Wang said she was confident that traffic would be good during the Games.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2008)