Transportation workers share reform insights

The workers who keep China's transportation system running are experiencing the nation's reform of the industry firsthand.

"We're trying to enhance our work efficiency to improve transportation while ensuring quality," said Fang Qiuzi, a road toll collector at Beijing Capital Highway Development Group.

She tries hard to get faster in her routine work, even if it's just reducing 0.1 second per vehicle.

"Now it only takes 2.5 seconds to collect the toll fees from the cars passing my window," Fang said at a news conference on Friday.

The central government has proposed building up China's transportation and joining the ranks of countries with a strong network by 2035.

Yao Zeyan, 54, a ship pilot with the Yangtze Maritime Pilots Center, said that over the past 30 years the number of vessels he guides each month has tripled. By the end of 2017, Yao had guided more than 7,000 vessels from 60 countries.

Yang Miaomiao, a bus driver in Bengbu, Anhui province, said she tries to satisfy passengers' demand for travel and to constantly improve her services.

In her city, there were only a dozen routes in the 1990s, but that number has increased to 65, with more than 1,700 buses in operation.

China has pledged to establish a transport grid system and build a safe, convenient, efficient and economical modern transport system.

In February, Li Xiaopeng, minister of transport, said passengers will have more access to transport and cargo.

"A substantial enhancement will be seen by the time the system is expected to be complete in 2035," Li said.

By 2020, China will have 150,000 kilometers of railway lines, 5 million km of roads, 260 airports and 2,527 berths for vessels over 10,000 metric tons.

The country also plans to expand its high-speed railway network to 30,000 km by 2020, connecting more than 80 percent of cities with a population of more than 1 million.

In addition to improving efficiency, skill improvement is another important factor that transport staff need to consider.

Zhong Songmin, a salvage specialist on an engineering crane ship at Guangzhou Salvage Bureau for 25 years, said he keeps in mind that a healthy body and professional skills are the most important factors in salvage operations.

Zhong, 48, has retrieved dozens of bodies and participated in rescuing more than 60 sinking vessels.