The bus ticket fare for residents from Qidong, a county-level city in Nantong, in Jiangsu province, is being lowered. [Photo/WeChat account of Qidong Daily]

A new bus ticket pricing system was recently adopted in Qidong, a county-level city of Nantong, in eastern Jiangsu province.

The cost for local residents to take a bus now is four yuan (58 cents) at most, compared with the  previous ticket price of nine yuan.

According to the new pricing system, passengers will be charged only two yuan if their traveling distance is within 20 kilometers.

For passengers who travel more than 20 kilometers, the fare is the maximum four yuan. 

The new rules have taken effect on some bus routes, and will be applied to all lines before the middle of June. 

Previously, Qidong adopted a tiered bus ticket pricing system, in which the ticket fare was dependent on a passenger’s traveling distance. 

As a result of the change, the transport costs for residents will be greatly lowered, according to local authorities.

Lu Jianjian, director of the department for passengers and cargo management, said that the new positive changes would attract more passengers to choose taking a bus as their preferred traveling mode, thus alleviating the traffic jams in the downtown areas.