From today's paper
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IN an era of convenient air travel, missing a flight isn't a big problem since it's easy to catch another one without being charged twice.
Yet for many Chinese, the train is their only affordable transport for long-haul trips. Even a minute change in the pricing of train tickets may restrict many people's access.
Therefore, the Ministry of Railways (MOR) should tread cautiously when changing policy that will affect tens of millions of passengers.
It seldom does. In a fresh reminder of its arrogance and unaccountability, the ministry's latest regulation stirred up so much controversy that it was forced to scrap it only days after it went into effect.
The new rule came into force on December 1. It stipulated that passengers who are late for regular-speed trains would lose the money paid for their tickets.
Under the new rule, except for cases of illness or injury, they could not ask for a refund, nor could they transfer to other trains through ticket swaps within two hours of departure - a common practice that used to apply to high-speed and regular trains.
A migrant worker surnamed Li in Foshan, Guangdong Province, was embittered by this rigid new ticketing policy. Due to snarled traffic, he arrived at the station too late for ticket punching and was barred from boarding just five minutes before the train's departure for Hubei, his native province.
His attempt to swap the ticket, which cost 281 yuan (US$42), for the next train home ended in failure. He had been 10 minutes too late, the booking office told him. Dismayed at the loss of money - nearly one sixth an average migrant's monthly income - he burst into tears.
Li's ordeal is not unique. People similarly angered by the tightening of the ticketing rule have decided to take action to restore the status quo ante.
The Oriental Morning Post reported on Tuesday that Li Fangping, a pro bono lawyer in Beijing, on Monday had filed the first lawsuit against the railway authorities, demanding reinstatement of the ticket-swap mechanism.
Li had missed a train on December 5 by one hour and a half and was not allowed to transfer to another one that left later in the day.
Under the old system he would have had two hours to make the change.
The bone of contention is the perceived inequality of many who were affected by this new ticketing policy. They cried foul over the "discriminatory way" they were being treated.
Indeed, the ban does not apply to holders of high-speed train tickets. Thus, regular passengers had good reason to suspect a ploy to force them to choose more expensive high-speed rail services.
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This is spot on, because the regular train services have a recent history of always being delayed. This new policy had no way of accounting for delayed trains, because it was only based on the time printed on the actual ticket. So in theory, a train that was 30 minutes late (very common) would have everyone left out of the loop.
The high-speed trains have a better record, but delays are still rather common. This was especially true for all trains in and out of Shanghai during the EXPO. Earlier this year, it got to the point where I was amazed if a train actually departed or arrived on time.
Thank goodness the ministry of railways backpedalled on this new policy, and things are back to the old system.
Never underestimate the power of the masses.
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