Urban Transportation Integration: A New Element and Pattern in the BGEZ

The high-speed rail has closely connected cities together in the Beibu Gulf Economic Zone (BGEZ), cemented the link and division of labor between city clusters, improved their supporting capacity and facilitated industrial upgrading and reforming in the region. The integration of transportation card has brought local people profound changes and formed a new development pattern of urban transportation integration. Meanwhile, “Internet Plus” has transformed traffic industry into be a brand- new look. The synchronous construction of China-ASEAN Information Harbor and urban transportation integration in BGEZ have complemented and promoted each other as well.

Integration of Transportation Card Created a New Pattern

On 2 July 2014, the People’s Government of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region approved the Implementation Plan on Urban Transportation Integration of the Four Cities in Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone (short for the Plan). The Plan aims to set up the intercity rapid transit network linking Nanning, Beihai, Qinzhou and Fangchenggang, accelerate the construction of IC card platform and achieve the integration of transportation card within the four cities by 2017.

Lu Zhengye, Deputy Director of Comprehensive Transport Management Office at Department of Transport of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region introduced that the integration of transportation card is designed to provide people with more secure, convenient and efficient transportation services.

He revealed that a leading group on integration of transportation card would be established at the end of 2015, a provincial-level IC card platform would be completed by the end of 2016 and the integration of transportation card involving bus, metro and taxi within the BGEZ is expected to be fulfilled in 2017 with urban public transport as its starting point.

“Internet Plus” Brings Us Convenient Traffic Network

The increasingly influential “Internet Plus” is a kind of interconnected information resource, and has the ability to handle the information processing. What positive changes will it bring to us?

“The transportation infrastructure, vehicles and operation information are increasingly delivered over the Internet. This could dramatically improve the efficiency in utilizing transportation resources, as well as promote our management and service level,” said Wei Yang, Deputy Director of Science and Education Office at Department of Transport of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. He pointed out that “Internet Plus” would bring some changes in several aspects as follows:

Firstly, it will enhance transport service quality. By virtue of “Internet Plus”, the public could enjoy city’s up-to-date transit information and online services like real-time traffic status, travel route guide, electronic toll collection, online ticketing, smart parking and vehicle maintenance, etc.

Secondly, it will strengthen the capability of monitoring, early warning and emergency management. Technologies like Internet of Things and Mobile Internet help improve runtime performance of transportation network, advance traffic information gathering and processing, benefit transportation element resources online, set up a complete transportation perception and emergency disposal system, generate new level of intelligence that can monitor and forecast, and realize the visual and measurable functions.

Thirdly, it will help better control the transportation. “Internet Plus” serves as a strong supporter for the optimization of transportation facilities planning and construction, safe operation control as well as decision- making on transportation management. Comprehensive law enforcement system for transportation needs to be upgraded and management competence should be improved by utilizing the Internet- based supervision.

Interactive Relations between Information Harbor and Urban Transportation Integration

The frequent economic exchanges between China and ASEAN as well as the strategic location where the BGEZ situates make BGEZ-based China- ASEAN Information Harbor a new growth point, and positively affect the urban transportation in the zone.

According to Wei Yang, relying on existing cooperation mechanisms and innovative ways of thinking, abiding by international rules and business principles, China-ASEAN Information Harbor aims to set up a network space community which is peaceful, secure, open and cooperative, thus to further strengthen all-round exchanges and cooperation between China and ASEAN in various areas.

“It is a complicated and big job for us to establish China-ASEAN Information Harbor. A significant amount of preparatory work has already been done,” said Wei Yang. Such work includes survey on port information construction in China and ASEAN countries, consulting and training on port information construction projects, and promotion of domestically-made terminal operating system.

The BGEZ is an important ASEAN- oriented area in China, which makes BGEZ-based China-ASEAN Information Harbor geared to ASEAN as well. The Harbor will fully utilize BGEZ’s potential and advantageous location, facilitate logistics cooperation in the region, better serve the development and cooperation between China and ASEAN and expedite the urban integration in BGEZ.