Make Commuting Easier With This Tailored Bus Route App
Let's say you, like me, live well outside the city center and want another option for getting home besides the subway or a Didi, with its astronomical prices coming from a place like Tongzhou. Would taking a bus be a better option?
But what about not finding seats, you say. What about having to stand for the entire commute, you ask. Well, fear not, for the city recently unveiled customized buses to make daily commutes much easier – or, at least, more bearable in traffic.
Enter 定制公交 dìngzhì gōngjiāo, a new app and mini-program you can use to schedule a bus ride virtually anywhere in Beijing.
1. In WeChat's search tab, type dingzhi gongjiao, and the mini-app should pop up.
2. In the app, you'll find multiple bus routes capable of taking you just about anywhere you need to go. To customize your trip, however, you'll need to search your preferred pick up spot and destination first. For example, if I want to travel from my office to home, I set 孚兴写字楼 fúxìng xiězìlóu as my starting point and 运河湾 yùnhéwān as my destination.
Note that the mini-program might inform you that they've not yet opened any direct routes between these locations. If there aren't any direct routes, they offer the next best thing – recommended pick-up and drop off spots close to your preferred locations.
The thing to keep in mind, though, is you'll probably have to walk about 1km or so to reach the closest bus stop.
3. Next, all you have to do is select the dates you want to take the bus. The one-way ticket for my trip cost about RMB 9.9, which isn't a bad deal when you consider the distance. After you hit the pay button, you'll have successfully booked your ticket!
4. Note that the system will not generate a ticket with the necessary QR code until 30 minutes before departure time. If you're wondering about where to find your bus, you can track it on a map with live updates by clicking 乘车标识 chéng chē biāozhì.
The arrival time of your bus may vary, so make sure you're there 10-15 minutes early so as not to miss your bus.
5. When your bus arrives, click 乘车码 chéng chē mǎ to get your QR code scanned and you're all set!
1.There might be more than one customized bus waiting at the bus station. Make sure to carefully search for the one that matches the license plate number of your bus.
2. Click the navigation button on the right to generate the route and track down your bus.
3. All custom route buses have dingzhi gongjiao clearly marked on the destination displays. Make sure to look for the red and green buses with these displays.
Have you gone for a ride on a custom bus route? Got any questions about the buses? Let us know in the comments!
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Images: Irene Li
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