Xi'an Metro plans to ban power banks, is it necessary?
■ Observer
The subway bans mobile charging items and needs to fully explain to the citizens.
Recently, the Xi'an Municipal Transportation Bureau announced the "Xi'an Urban Rail Transit Passenger Code (Draft for Comment)", which proposed to prohibit "smoking in stations and trains, lighting open flames, and the use of mobile charging objects", which caused heated discussions.
In response, the Xi'an Citizens Hotline and the relevant staff responsible for subway operations in the Xi'an Railroad Office stated that they have not received any formal notifications.
"It is understandable not to smoke, but it is really confusing not to bring mobile charging items." This is a common question of many netizens, including citizens of Xi'an.
In reality, mobile phones are indispensable for scanning health codes, watching videos, social media, and communication at work.
For this reason, carrying mobile charging items has almost become a must for travel.
On the one hand, passengers have a rigid demand for charging. On the other hand, Xi'an Metro has banned mobile charging items. The conflict is obvious.
But why it should be disabled, the draft did not give an explanation.
Then, an unavoidable question is: Where is the necessity of this measure?
There is also a precedent for the subway to restrict the use of mobile charging items.
Metros in Guangzhou and many other places have introduced relevant measures, but they are not "one size fits all", but classified and sub-regional management: some have a prescribed capacity, and some are not recommended for use on the subway.
This time, Xi'an's regulations clearly want to "prohibit."
In reality, the limitation of mobile charging items is mainly due to safety considerations: some mobile charging items are of poor quality and may cause spontaneous combustion, explosion, and smoke.
But no matter what the reason is to disable it, it cannot avoid the reality that "this move will affect public travel."
Recourse to experience, the probability of deflagration of mobile charging items is extremely low, but therefore it is banned "one size fits all". Is there a bit of excessive force?
Secondly, even if some places have restrictive measures, but they are not mandatory, few are as strict as Xi'an.
In contrast, more cities with subways have not explicitly banned them. The relevant departments in Xi'an must give more sufficient reasons to explain to the public.
Finally, the government must administer according to the law, and local governments must act in accordance with the law in the legislative process.
In this regard, it is necessary for Xi'an to explain clearly to the public the relevant legal basis.
In addition, it must be considered: If the prohibition measures are implemented, what kind of alternative services should the relevant departments provide for the traveling citizens?
For example, set up emergency charging service ports in the subway, especially in areas that involve scanning health codes and mobile phone payments to provide fast charging services.
Earlier, USB ports were provided in some subway cars in Shanghai to facilitate the charging of citizens, which was praised by the public.
"Prohibition of mobile charging items" caused heated discussions, because it touched the public interest.
As the public’s awareness of rights increases, actively participating in policy formulation and expressing their opinions is a direct manifestation of the public’s active involvement in public governance.
In this regard, in order to fully protect the rights of the public, policy makers may wish to explain related questions.
In this way, it can not only answer questions, but also increase the public's sense of gain in full participation in public affairs.
A small mobile charging item actually reflects the balance between public demands and government management: How to protect public safety without ignoring individual rights and demands is worthy of more in-depth discussion.
On this basis, the implementation plan may be revised, or supporting measures may be introduced. Only in this way can the process of "soliciting opinions" truly become a guarantee for improving public rights.
□Li Youli (media person)