Under the Beijing Customized Public Transport initiative, the first batch of nearly 200 customized buses is expected to be launched for people who resume to work within the urban areas of Beijing on February 27.

Beijing Customized Public Transport initiative, supported by Beijing Public Transport Corporation (BPTC), was established since 2013. The initiative acts as alternative of conventional public transport system to customize its service to riders for various functions such as commuting to work and seeking medical treatment in hospitals. Big data application and smart algorithm are utilized to get insights of riders' needs, which in turns optimizes users' experience under different functions. The operation is mainly run by TUSPASS, a Chinese smart public transport system service provider.

On February 17, BPTC started carrying out surveys on the demand from the users for the upcoming launch of customized bus service. Receiving positive receptions, it has collected applications from more than 10,000 individuals and 300 companies for the customized service since the first day when the application information was announced.

According to individual applications, the areas that are highest in demand for customized bus service include Liyuan, Huilongguan, Tiantongyuan, Changyang, Huangcun and Zhongguancun. For corporate applicants that mainly consist of SMEs, large amount of reservations was made at places where offices gather such as Advanced Business Park, Wangjing Subdistrict and Yizhuang town.

From February 25 (Tuesday) onwards, individuals and companies can start making reservations or buying tickets through a micro-app on the popular social media platform WeChat, according to the company. The planning of bus lines will be completed within five days after integrating the responses from the online reservations.

The bus is only allowed to embark if the number of applicants for the same line and the same timetable can reach half of the bus seats. Adding to that, the bus line will be adjusted or even cancelled if there are not enough number of riders in a shift.

Under this initiative, ¥8 (RM4.81) per person will be charged for travel distance below 20 km. For every increase of 5 km, ¥3 (RM1.80) will be added to the bus fare. Passengers may enjoy a fare discount of 40% for one month since the launch of bus service.