Beijing, China - Jan 15, 2022 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of press conference in progress; reporter asking question
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhou Min, deputy director, emergency response department, Ministry of Transport (partially overlaid with shot 3):
"It is estimated that 1.18 billion passenger trips will be made during the Spring Festival travel rush in 2022, with 29.5 million trips per day, up 35.6 percent from 2021 but down 20.3 percent from 2020 and a decline of 60.4 percent from the pre-epidemic level in 2019."
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3. Reporters
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4. Reporters
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhou Min, deputy director, emergency response department, Ministry of Transport:
"We will develop flexible and customized shuttle bus services to strengthen connections between trunk lines and urban transport, facilitating the transfer from one transport mode to another for travelers, especially arrivals at night. We will do our best to avoid passengers being stranded at stations, ports, or airports and meet the travel needs of the people."
6. Various of reporters
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhou Min, deputy director, emergency response department, Ministry of Transport (starting with shot 6):
"In terms of guaranteeing services for road network operations, relevant authorities will enhance dynamic monitoring of traffic flows in key road sections at the height of the Spring Festival travel rush and release information on road conditions in a timely way. We will tighten environmental management and epidemic control at toll stations and service areas on expressways. We will also strengthen the monitoring and maintenance of expressway toll lanes, improve the ability to handle abnormal situations, and avoid congestion of vehicles and people."

FILE: Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, east China - Feb 2021(CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Travelers passing through ticket gates
9. Travelers buying tickets

FILE: Heze City, Shandong Province, east China - Feb 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. Sign on door reading (Chinese/English) “Welcome to Heze"
11. Passengers walking in train station

FILE: Sichuan Province, southwest China - Feb 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Passengers waiting in line to board buses
13. Passengers loading luggage onto bus
14. Passengers boarding bus
15. Buses departing

FILE: China - Feb 12-17, 2021 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
16. Various of travelers, ground service staff at airport
17. Planes on tarmac

China expects to see 1.18 billion passenger trips during this year’s Spring Festival travel rush, which will test the country's transport system amid the latest COVID-19 resurgence, said a Ministry of Transport official on Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Zhou Min, deputy director of the Transport Ministry’s emergency response department, outlined the new features of the Spring Festival travel rush and explained the various new measures taken to ensure travelers’ smooth journeys.

"It is estimated that 1.18 billion passenger trips will be made during the Spring Festival travel rush in 2022, with 29.5 million trips per day, up 35.6 percent from 2021 but down 20.3 percent from 2020 and a decline of 60.4 percent from the pre-epidemic level in 2019," said Zhou.

Ahead of the country’s largest annual migration, China is facing relatively great challenges in terms of epidemic prevention and control, travel safety, emergency response, and transport services, the official noted.

To address these challenges, transport departments at different levels will increase efforts in the following four areas: effectively organizing passenger transport, improving services for key groups of people, guaranteeing smooth road network operations, and ensuring transport and safe production for enterprises, according to Zhou.

"We will develop flexible and customized shuttle bus services to strengthen connections between trunk lines and urban transport, facilitating the transfer from one transport mode to another for travelers, especially arrivals at night. We will do our best to avoid passengers being stranded at stations, ports, or airports and meet the travel needs of the people," said Zhou.

Transport departments will pay more attention to key groups of people, including seniors, children, patients, and pregnant women, adding more service windows and helping them with health status checks, said the official.

"In terms of guaranteeing services for road network operations, relevant authorities will enhance dynamic monitoring of traffic flows in key road sections at the height of the Spring Festival travel rush and release information on road conditions in a timely way. We will tighten environmental management and epidemic control at toll stations and service areas on expressways. We will also strengthen the monitoring and maintenance of expressway toll lanes, improve the ability to handle abnormal situations, and avoid congestion of vehicles and people," said Zhou.

During the Spring Festival travel rush, transport departments urge companies to take responsibility of inspecting and eliminating safety loopholes, strengthening the dynamic monitoring of tourist buses, heavy-duty trucks, and vehicles carrying hazardous materials, and overseeing train stations’ enhanced safety management, so as to prevent and alleviate safety risks from the very source, said the official.