Behind the closure of an urban and rural passenger station, where is the way out for the diversification of passenger travel modes?
"I started running this line in 1997, when I was not married, and now the baby is 22 years old."
On the passenger line from Jianyang to Sancha, Yu Ping has been running the bus for 24 years.
He clearly remembers that when the business was booming, 58 cars travelled back and forth on this popular route, but now, there are only 16 cars left.
On the afternoon of March 31st, at the Sancha Passenger Station, he departed here for the last time - on April 1st, the passenger station will be officially closed and no more vehicles will be dispatched.
A notice posted at the station explained the reason for the closure of the passenger station: Affected by factors such as the subway and multiple bus lines, the number of vehicles and lines participating in the station has been greatly reduced, resulting in operating losses and unable to operate normally.
This is located in Sancha Street, the current new district in the east of Chengdu, which was once an important transportation hub in the western area of Jianyang, and has officially withdrawn from the historical stage.
The reporter's investigation found that behind the closure of Sancha Passenger Station is the rapid development of urban public transportation and the diversification of citizens' travel modes.
Data from Sichuan's transportation industry shows that from 2016 to 2020, the province's total road passenger traffic has halved.
Passenger stations and passenger transport enterprises are also under pressure to transform.
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter Zhang Zhaoting photography report
closed station
The desperation of a passenger station
The number of operating vehicles and lines has been greatly reduced, and the Sancha Passenger Station has been officially closed.
The notice of the closure of Sancha Passenger Station was issued a few days ago.
The notice stated that due to factors such as the subway and multiple bus lines, the number of vehicles participating in the operation of Sancha Passenger Station has been reduced from 68 to more than 20, and the number of participating lines has been reduced from 8 to 4. The operating loss has been unable to operate normally.
The station has decided to officially close on April 1, and no more vehicles will be dispatched.
Sancha Passenger Station is located in Sancha Street, the current new district in the east of Chengdu. It used to be an important transportation hub in the western area of Jianyang.
Previously, these multiple passenger lines were operated here, mainly to Chengdu, Huayang and the surrounding areas of Jianyang, as far as Neijiang.
In September 2020, Chengdu Metro Line 18 was put into operation, and "Sancha" was one of the stops. In order to facilitate citizens' travel, the local bus "East 11" was also opened to connect the subway station to Sancha urban area.
"There is not a single car going to Chengdu, nor Huayang. They all go to the subway." Old Li, a staff member of the passenger station, said helplessly. The shuttle bus from Huayang used to have 8 rolling buses every day to Huayang, and 14 buses to Chengdu every day.
After the subway was opened, car owners running the Chengdu and Huayang lines were reluctant to continue participating in the camp.
The reduction of participating lines will directly affect the economic benefits of the passenger station.
Sancha Passenger Station is a Class 3 station and does not have the qualification to sell tickets. The main income is to collect station fees for each car entering the station.
"There are fewer cars entering the station, and the station charges less station service fees. Now the total income of the station is only enough to pay one employee's salary." Lao Li said that there are currently 6 employees in the station, and they can't make ends meet.
The station was closed, a helpless move.
shrink
The status quo of a "single line"
At peak time, 58 cars run together, but now sometimes it only earns tens of yuan per trip
On the afternoon of March 31, Yu Ping sat in the cab and waited for the departure.
From the age of 21, he began to run the line from Jianyang to Sancha.
He clearly remembers that in the heyday, there were 58 cars running the line at the station at most, "a 'unique line', there is no competition for any cars, and you can 'pick up passengers' in the middle, and the daily income can reach several thousand yuan. "At the moment, the subway and bus are coming. "The business will be bad. There are only 16 cars left."
"There is a train every half an hour, and often there are only a few passengers when leaving the station, and sometimes there is not even one. The fare is about 200 yuan for a good business, and only a few dozen yuan when the business is bad. Even the cost is not enough. "Yu Ping introduced that the former "unique line" has been covered by multiple bus lines, and citizens prefer to choose buses when traveling, and the passenger flow of the passenger line has been greatly reduced.
According to Yu Ping, there is currently a bus line from Sancha to the subway station, and the subway can go directly to Tianfu Airport, while Jianyang has opened a rapid bus line to Tianfu Airport. "Most of this line is basically covered by public transportation. Now the total income of 16 cars on the entire line may only be a few thousand yuan a day."
Yu Ping, 46, was a little helpless about the news of the closure of Sancha Bus Terminal. He didn't know how long the bus would last. "The general trend is like this. One day of operation is counted as one day."
transformation
An attempt at Chengdu East Railway Station
Pushing customized passenger transport and independent station selection, the industry may usher in a "big reshuffle"
In fact, behind the closure of the passenger stations is the rapid development of urban public transportation and the diversification of citizens' travel modes. Many passenger stations around Chengdu are also facing the same operating pressure.
Data from the "Statistical Bulletin on the Development of Sichuan's Transportation Industry in 2020" shows that from 2016 to 2020, the province's highway passenger traffic has fallen by an average of more than ten percent each year, and the total traffic has decreased from 1.09 billion in 2016 to The 450 million in 2020 can be described as a "half cut".
According to Yuan Wenjun, deputy general manager of Chengdu East Railway Station Bus Terminal, as a comprehensive transportation hub in Chengdu, the passenger flow reached more than 5 million in 2019, ranking among the top.
Today, however, passenger traffic is only around 2 million.
"It is an indisputable fact that the passenger transport market is shrinking, and we have also done a lot of work to transform it." Yuan Wenjun said that they had tried to take advantage of the express, flexible, and door-to-door advantages of road passenger transport, but failed to do so in actual operations. , had to find another way.
Ms. He, a citizen of Chengdu, has worked in Nanchong for many years, and the bullet train is the main transportation for her to and from weekends.
Recently, she has a "private car". As long as she selects a time and a round-trip location on the applet, a 7-seater special car will take her directly from Nanchong to Chengdu's doorstep, which usually takes about 2.5 hours.
This is the customized passenger transport launched by passenger stations and passenger transport enterprises.
"Customized passenger transport is the development trend of the passenger transport market in the future." Yuan Wenjun introduced that starting from 2020, customized passenger transport will be introduced in the station, allowing passenger transport companies to open small passenger cars with more than 7 seats, and make online reservations through platform software according to passengers' needs. Point-to-point service to meet the needs of passengers individual needs.
At present, the development of customized passenger transport is very fast, from the 2 lines introduced at the beginning to the current 22, and the next step will continue to expand.
In addition to customized passenger transport, it is an independent choice of station.
Yuan Wenjun said that according to the newly promulgated "Road Passenger Transport and Passenger Station Management Regulations", passenger transport companies can independently choose the starting and ending stations to operate according to the service needs of the flight line.
"At present, dozens of passenger transport companies have adjusted their operating lines to the Chengdu East Railway Station Bus Terminal, which will bring a certain amount of passenger flow." Yuan Wenjun said that if the passenger transport line starts to be selected in the market, the passenger transport industry will be reshuffled in the future. to a new layout.
In addition, the reporter found that the passenger station has also begun to cross borders with other industries, such as launching short-distance tourism projects to surrounding tourist attractions on weekends; providing the utilization rate of the vacant luggage area of passenger shuttles and launching small express delivery services.
In the depot, vehicle parking and charging are also set up in the idle site to improve the utilization rate.
industry/sector/support/recruit
Meet the individual needs of passengers
Explore the "door-to-door" market space
As an "old passenger transporter" with 39 years of experience, Xiong Ye once held several positions in the Chengdu International Trade City Passenger Station, and also served as the chairman and general manager of Sichuan Fulin Transportation Group Chengdu Co., Ltd.
He said that around 2015 was the peak of the entire passenger transport market. Since 2016, it has been declining at an annual rate of about 20%. After the epidemic, the decline was even more severe. Even some large passenger stations in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen were closed.
Regarding the future development direction of passenger transport enterprises and passenger stations, he proposed that it is necessary to transform to customized passenger transport, for example, miniaturization of vehicles, using 7-seat vehicles to provide door-to-door services, covering places that high-speed rail and bus cannot reach, such as short distances, villages, etc. .
The operation of the passenger station needs to move towards a variety of operations (such as logistics, etc.) to reduce losses.
Take Fulin Transportation, the largest passenger transport company in Sichuan as an example. It operates more than 20 passenger terminals in Sichuan, one third of which is at or on the verge of loss.
"Felicity is mainly transforming into customized passenger transport, logistics and online car-hailing."
Huo Yamin, an associate professor at the School of Transportation and Logistics of Southwest Jiaotong University, also said that now, long-distance travel has aviation, and medium and long-distance travel has rail transportation. After arriving at the destination, it can be converted by bus, subway, online car-hailing, rental car, etc., so the whole The shrinking passenger market is an indisputable fact.
So will the highway passenger transport or the passenger station disappear?
"No, it's just the overall scale is reduced." In Huo Yamin's view, "the biggest living space is 'door-to-door', instead of the traditional concentration of passengers in the station, which increases the travel time of passengers and loses Its own advantages." Huo Yamin believes that the operation of the passenger station should be changed from a centralized operation to a decentralized one, the passenger flow organization should be more flexible, the pick-up and drop-off points should be more dispersed, and go deep into residential areas.
"For example, foreign buses have many stops in the city. Passengers can choose to get on and off the bus, and make an appointment online in advance. There is no need for a centralized bus. This is a reference for domestic transportation companies."