Regulation on Urban Public Transport

Regulation on Urban Public Transport

Order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
(No. 793)

The Regulation on Urban Public Transport, as adopted at the 39th executive meeting of the State Council on August 19, 2024, is hereby issued and shall come into force on December 1, 2024.

Premier: Li Qiang
October 17, 2024

Regulation on Urban Public Transport

Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 This Regulation is developed for the purposes of promoting the high-quality development of urban public transport, improving the service level of urban public transport, guaranteeing the safety of urban public transport, more effectively meeting the basic travel needs of the public, and promoting urban modernization.
Article 2 For the purposes of this Regulation, the term “urban public transport” means using buses and trams, urban rail transit vehicles and other means of public transport and relevant systems and facilities within the areas determined by the municipal people's governments to operate according to the approved routes, stations, hours, fares, etc., to provide the public with basic travel services.
Article 3 The state implements the strategy of giving priority to the development of urban public transport, comprehensively takes measures in planning, land, public finance, finance and other respects, guarantees the development of urban public transport and enhances competitiveness and attractiveness of urban public transport.
The state encourages and guides the public to give priority to choosing public transport as a motorized mode of travel.
Article 4 The urban public transport work shall insist on the leadership of the Communist Party of China, be people-oriented, insist on the public benefit attribute of urban public transport, implement the strategy of giving priority to the development of urban public transport, and build a safe, convenient, efficient, green and economic urban public transport system.
Article 5 The municipal people's governments are the primary subjects responsible for urban public transport.
The municipal people's governments shall strengthen the organization and leadership of urban public transport work, implement the guarantee measures for the development of urban public transport, strengthen the supervision and administration of urban public transport safety, and make overall planning for studying and coordinating solutions to major problems in the urban public transport work.
The competent department of urban public transport of the State Council and other relevant departments and the people's governments of provinces and autonomous regions shall strengthen the guidance for the urban public transport work.
Article 6 The municipal people's governments shall, according to the actual circumstances and characteristics of the functional positioning, scale, spatial layout, development goals, and travel needs of the public, coordinate the use of urban land and space, coordinate various modes of transport, scientifically determine the development goals and development modes of urban public transport, and promote the increase of the share ratio of urban public transport in motorized travel.
Article 7 Enterprises undertaking urban public transport operation services (hereinafter referred to as “urban public transport enterprises”) shall be determined by the municipal people's governments or their competent departments of urban public transport according to the law.
Article 8 The state encourages and supports the promotion and application of new technologies, new energy and new equipment in the urban public transport system, improves the information-based and intelligent level of urban public transport, promotes the green and low-carbon transformation of urban public transport, and improves the operational efficiency and management level.
Chapter II Development Guarantee
Article 9 The plan for the comprehensive urban transport system shall specify the principle of giving priority to the development of urban public transport, coordinate the construction of urban transport infrastructure, rationally allocate and utilize various transport resources, and strengthen the connection and coordination of various transport modes. The municipal people's governments shall, according to the actual circumstances and needs, organize the development of urban public transport plans.
A city building an urban rail transit system shall, in accordance with the relevant rules of the state, develop a plan for the urban rail transit network and a construction plan.
The plan for the comprehensive urban transport system, the plan for urban public transport, the plan for urban rail transit network and the construction plan shall be connected with the territorial spatial planning, and the reasonable demand for land and space use shall be included in the overall guarantee for the implementation supervision system for territorial spatial planning.
Article 10 Relevant departments of municipal people's governments shall reasonably determine urban public transport lines, distribute facilities such as public transport stations, and improve the coverage rate of public transport in accordance with relevant planning, urban development and travel needs of the public.
The municipal people's governments shall organize relevant departments to carry out public travel surveys as a basis for optimizing the layout of urban public transport lines and stations.
Article 11 For newly built, reconstructed, and expanded residential areas, transport hubs, schools, hospitals, sports venues, commercial centers and other large construction projects, the needs of public transport shall be considered in an overall manner; and where the approval and verification documents of construction projects require supporting construction of urban public transport infrastructure, construction entities shall, in accordance with the requirements, construct relevant facilities and put them into use.
The construction of urban public transport infrastructure shall satisfy the requirements for construction of a barrier-free environment and be combined with elderly-oriented renovation.
Article 12 The municipal people's governments shall guarantee the land for urban public transport infrastructure according to the law. Land for urban public transport infrastructure that meets the prescribed conditions may be provided by means of allocation or transfer by agreement.
Under the premise of satisfying the requirements of territorial spatial planning and use control and not affecting the function and scale of urban public transport, the land for urban public transport infrastructure may be comprehensively developed in accordance with relevant regulations of the state to support the development of urban public transport.
Article 13 The municipal people's governments shall arrange for the funds required for the development of urban public transport in accordance with the actual and financial capacity of urban public transport, and incorporate them into the budget at the corresponding level.
The state encourages and guides financial institutions to provide financial services compatible with the development of urban public transport, and increases financing support for the development of urban public transport.
The state encourages and supports private investors in participating in the construction and operation of urban public transport infrastructure according to the law, and protects their legitimate rights and interests.
Article 14 Urban public transport fares shall be priced by the government or set by the government-guided price in accordance with the law, and a dynamic adjustment mechanism shall be established. The establishment of a multi-level and differentiated urban public transport fare system based on factors such as the quality of urban public transport services, transport distance and transfer mode shall be encouraged.
In the setting and adjustment to urban public transport fare, factors such as enterprises' operating costs, social affordability, traffic supply and demand shall be taken into account, and procedures such as supervision and examination of pricing costs shall be undergone according to the law.
Article 15 Urban public transport enterprises may provide customized travel services under the premise of guaranteeing the basic travel of the public. Customized travel services may be subject to market adjustment.
Article 16 The municipal people's governments shall organize relevant departments to comprehensively consider the factors such as the financial capacity and the space for the enterprise to increase income and reduce expenditure, and give timely subsidies and compensation in accordance with the provisions on the basis of evaluating the quality of the operation service of urban public transport enterprises and reviewing the annual cost accounting reports.
Article 17 The municipal people's governments may, according to the actual circumstances and needs, set up special lanes for public transport under the principles of coordinating overall public transport efficiency and overall traffic efficiency, and intensive use of urban road resources, and implement scientific management and dynamic adjustment.
Chapter III Operation Services
Article 18 The competent departments of urban public transport of the municipal people's governments shall, by signing operation service agreements with urban public transport enterprises and other means, specify the relevant service standards, norms, and requirements for operation of urban public transport, evaluation of operation service quality and other matters.
Urban public transport enterprises shall comply with the relevant service standards, norms and requirements for urban public transport operation, strengthen internal management of enterprises, and constantly improve the quality and efficiency of operation services.
An urban public transport enterprise shall not transfer or lease the urban public transport lines operated by it to others for operation directly or in a disguised form.
Article 19 Urban pub......