Speeches: Wang Yongli, Chairman of Board, New National Line Transportation Group Ltd.

Sustained improvement of its public service system is an important administrative job for every government, for which it will make every effort to manifest its commitment and deliver its promises. Guided by the principle of "for the people", the improvement of its public service capacity has become one of the key governmental ideals for this new administration in China. The development of the nation's commercial transportation, especially that of the intercity (operational) bus transportation, which has already been playing a fundamental role in China's national economy, requires that we are fully committed to the achievement of a comprehensive comfortable standard of living for the Chinese people. As the economic society and the people's need for good transportation services continues to grow, real and effective efforts need to be made to improve intercity commercial bus service and transportation organization and logistics.

1. Intercity commercial bus transportation is a development strategy in conformity with the condition of the country and with scientific practices.

As China's economy and society continue to develop, a modern intercity commercial transportation system is gradually taking shape. Most of the large and middle-sized cities throughout the country are connected by commercial airlines, railroads (especially accelerated railroads) and highroads (especially highways), which are playing their roles respectively in a primary commercial network made up of various modern modes of transportation. By its nature, bus transportation's production is flexible and disperse, its operation widely distributed and covering extensively. Such features, together with its technical economy, make it an indispensable force in the commercial transportation network, in which it is now playing an ever more important fundamental role. By the 1990s, China has developed a commercial transportation system with emphasis on both highroads and railroads while the former took on a major role. It is a pattern in conformity with the reality of the country as one with a vast territory, a large population, and relatively low levels of economic development and consumption.

One the other hand, in comparison with developed countries, intercity bus transportation in China enjoys high levels of government support, public acceptance and credibility. Its scale and operational efficiency are in no way inferior to those in developed countries. Its public credibility is recognized worldwide and fully accepted. It has a scientific feasibility in which the ideal for sustainable development is fully expressed. For these reasons, China should make a long term strategic commitment to the consolidation and improvement of intercity commercial bus transportation.

2. The priority of the development of intercity bus transportation is to meet the ever growing need for commercial transportation.

Need is the precondition for the existence of production and supply. To meet human need is the final goal for each and every social production activity. The process by which transportation services meet the need of an economic society's development is a dynamic and ever changing one. In China, for some time in the future, one major problem is the disparity between the ever growing need of her economic society and her people for good transportation services on the one hand, and relatively under-developed transportation capacity on the other. The same is true for intercity commercial bus transportation. Suppliers of intercity commercial bus services, especially enterprises with large capacities and operating in certain economic areas or along certain major highroad lines, should be committed to the service of the public, and make every effort to meet public need by keeping a close track of their customers' requirement with respect to time, space, different levels and details of services, contexts and dynamic changes, etc. when traveling on road. First-hand market information should be obtained. A scientific understanding of development, with an emphasis on the "for the people" principle, and a commitment to comprehensive, co-ordinated and sustainable development, is requisite for them to be able to provide the society with intercity commercial bus transportation that is highly efficient, of good quality, safe, environmentally responsible, cost effective and with good benefit. Only by doing so can they meet the need of China's economic society and her people for various good transportation services.

3. Large transportation companies should have a leading role in the development of China's intercity commercial bus transportation.

Intercity commercial bus transportation service has been developing very quickly. However, there are some problems. Some markets are too opened up; there is a lack of industrial discipline; incompetent management in the commercial transportation market has led to undisciplined competition and lack of order; protection of local interests and market blockade are serious problems in some places; more attention is paid to operation than to safety, etc. These have directly led to the following defects in the intercity commercial bus transportation business: low degree of organization, slow progress toward scale economy, low level of specialization, operational entities are "numerous, small, dispersed, weak and disordered". These have become the major impeding forces for the further development of intercity commercial bus transportation. At the moment there are few large commercial bus transportation companies that have a significant influence nationwide, let alone in the global market. These large companies, though only of a small number, should understand that an enterprise's strength depends on its scale and its growth depends on its strength, and aspire for a larger and stronger presence. They should facilitate cooperation between leading forces in the business and endeavour to achieve excellence and long term success. We need stronger measures to encourage most of the medium or small commercial bus transportation businesses to be incorporated into large national or regional companies, as facilitated by capital operations and guided by market economy principles. Government agencies, in line with the Regulations of Road Transportation of the People's Republic of China, should facilitate the scale economy and intensive operation of large commercial bus transportation companies, while at the same time no entity or individual shall be allowed to blockade or monopolize the commercial transportation market. Support should be provided to those successful and promising companies to help them achieve greater and stronger status. These measures would be of great importance for the development of China's intercity commercial bus transportation service, especially in the context of her new membership in WTO and the consequent inflow of foreign capital, technology and advanced management ideas.

4. For the people: to adjust the operational structure and provide customers with multiple services.

The principle "for the people" requires that the intercity commercial bus transportation seeks its development through serving the basic need of the people. Its market expansion activities should be guided by a deep care for the people. Few travelers ever hit the road for the purpose of riding a bus. The bus is a means for them to achieve other goals. This means that bus transportation service suppliers need to update their business philosophy and be open to adjustments of their operational structure, and provide the customers with a rich variety of public services that are both economic and safe. For example, consideration should be given to the need of a relatively small number of high income customers whose primary concern is for the bus trip to be comfortable, while at the same time most of the customers are from lower income groups more concerned with economy. Given that safety is guaranteed, different customers should have the choice of various types of buses and services. Consideration should be given to customers' need for simplicity and directness, while alternatives to be transferred with ease to other modes of transportation should be provided. Connection and cooperation with other modes of transportation should be improved and "no-travel" transfer services be provided. While spatial displacement is the basic goal for any traveller, and our priority is to deliver the customers safely and smoothly to their destination, we should also pay attention to other related services after arrival, such as accommodation, travelling, shopping, dining, recreation, and tourism, etc.

5. The principle of efficiency: to actually improve public service standard of intercity commercial bus transportation.

A market economy system is one guided by the principle of efficiency. Market economy is based on meeting the need of the people, and only by achieving higher efficiency can the public service standard of intercity commercial bus transportation be improved, and the profit and value of the enterprise be maximized. Efficiency of the commercial bus transportation service is necessarily dependent on the level of organization and management. Nonetheless, while the level of organization and management is given, much improvement can be achieved by using high capacity, high performance, low energy consumption and low pollution transportation vehicles on major highroad lines.

This is indispensable for the development of intercity commercial bus transportation services, and can explain why countries around the world are pursuing larger, more specialized, and train-like vehicles for the development of their road transportation. However, in China right now, large commercial buses count for only 20% of the vehicles running on the major intercity lines for the whole industry, while high class buses count for less than 5%. This indicates a low public service standard of the intercity commercial bus transportation, and shows much potential for improvement. We have seen some changes in the transportation conditions and needs in recent years, and intercity commercial bus transportation practices have shown that "sleeper buses", which used to be quite popular, are now in a state of stagnation. Very likely they would no longer be the main method to improve service standard of intercity commercial bus transportation. Attention should be paid to this trend.

5. To facilitate co-ordinated development of different modes of transportation, and the establishment of a multi-dimensional, integrated transportation system.

Modern transportation industry has entered a phase of advanced development of integrated transportation. To improve the performance of transportation administrative departments and their public service standard, one major task is to achieve better integrated planning and co-ordinated development. This covers a wide territory and various aspects. While we emphasize the importance of intercity commercial bus transportation, we also realize that that a balanced, co-ordinated development of all modes of transportation is needed, so that their respective advantages can be availed for the benefit of all. A well connected, well organized integrated transportation system is required, so that each mode of transportation can bring into play their specific technical economy to the maximum, and provide customers with a convenient, highly efficient, economic and smoothly running environment for their travel plans correspondingly. The establishment of a multi-dimensional, integrated transportation system involves the relation between an economic society and the modes of transportation available to it, as well as the relation between infrastructure and commercial transportation, and that between transportation services and hubs of bus stops, railway stations and airports. These three elements - routes, stations, and transportation service - have to be integrated in an organic manner, so that we can provide the society and the public with a high capacity, high quality public transportation product, and improve the overall functioning of the transportation service system.

The development of intercity commercial bus transportation, and the improvement of public service capacity are a large and complex subject. It needs not only support from the government but also active involvement of various enterprises. Policy preferences need to be made; they also need to be carried out in real practice. We believe that with the effort from all our fellow colleagues in the industry, with one goal in mind, and working together, we can look forward to a much brighter future for China's intercity commercial bus transportation industry.