New ticket system won't solve the real problem

• Source: Global Times
• [01:43 January 11 2010]
• Comments

As long as this nexus prevails, the real-name system can hardly operate in a transparent manner. There are too many people in China who want to go home by train, the means with the highest cost-performance ratio in China. With the high demand, many turn to huangniu. With ID numbers in their hand, huangniu can easily get the information printed on tickets they've already booked. It is a little more work, not a problem.

Real-name tickets cannot end the hardship of chunyun (passenger transport during the Spring Festival). Improving services and internal management of the railways is a prerequisite to end malpractices and the lack of control over ticket agencies.

Further, during travel seasons, there should be an integrated approach to managing rail, road and airline capacity.

As the preferred, affordable mode for the majority, railway bears the brunt of the rush. For optimum use of road, airline and railway capacity and avoiding excessive load on any one mode, it is necessary to have a reasonable price mechanism.

However, the system of real names on tickets is a decisive move to ease the bottleneck, and for that reason it is welcome.

Perhaps, sometime in the future, the ordeal of buying a ticket at festival times will cease to be a topic of conversation.