Security on public transit

The news that the bus fire in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Saturday, which injured 32 people, was started deliberately has once again raised concerns about bus security. The motive for the arson is as yet unknown. But it is not the first time that a bus was set on fire by an arsonist. Two similar extreme cases happened in Chengdu in 2009 and in Xiamen last year, claiming dozens of lives and leaving more injured.

It's urgent that bus security is tightened, as an increasing number of people rely on buses - data shows the bus line on which the tragedy happened has a daily flow of about 20,000 passengers. The number of passengers using buses in the metropolises is even larger. In Beijing, the number of bus trips made by passengers can reach more than 20 million on a single day, even higher than that of subway.

However, compared with subways, buses have much more lines and bus stops, making it very difficult to implement strict safety checks. More convenient measures must be relied on to protect bus drivers and passenger's safety.

Media reports also show that passengers on the bus tried to break the windows after the fire started, but failed. Several passers-by "broke all the windows they could see" with chain locks or their car fire extinguishers, and their heroic deeds offered a lifeline for many.

Maybe there were not enough emergency hammers in the bus or maybe the passengers forgot to use them amid the panic. If it was in the former situation, the old call for fully installing safety tools for buses should be reemphasized; if the latter, the public need to be informed of what to do in such emergencies in order that the number of casualties can be kept to a minimum.

Police investigations found lacquer thinner on the site of the incident, which could have been used by the suspect in setting the blaze. Actually, in several similar past cases, the suspects all used inflammables to start their fires and some claimed to have obtained the material very easily, sometimes with the simple click of a mouse. Clearly it is necessary to strengthen control over dangerous chemicals and prevent them from being used to harm people's safety. The casualties this time are a high price to pay and we cannot afford to pay more.

(China Daily 07/07/2014 page8)