Beijing News: Fast-Track Taxi Lanes, BJ To Host 2026 FINA Comp.

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Beijing Railway Stations Trial Taxi “Short Distance” Lanes

In July, a handful of Beijing railway stations began trialing fast-track “short-distance” taxi pick-up lanes. The initiatives aim to solve the common issue of taxi drivers waiting in the station pick-up lines refusing to accept departing passengers who request to travel only for a short distance. 

Taxi drivers waiting for passengers in the pick-up lines at transportation hubs such as railway stations and airports tend to prioritize fares that will run for a longer distance, as these fares will bring them more money. Drivers are generally disincentivized to accept trips shorter in distance that knock them out of the often very long taxi lines, but which also don’t bring them as much money. In many instances, the expected fares do not even exceed the base fare price. 

This has led to increasing rates of trip acceptance hesitancy and outright refusal. At Beijing North station, for example, the rate of taxi driver trip refusal had risen to more than 50 percent by last month.

To solve the problem, Beijing North implemented an airport-style “short-distance” line. After accepting a fare within 5km of the station, a taxi driver is given a special “short-distance” express pass. Upon completion of the trip and return to the station, a driver may present the pass and receipt from the trip, after which they are allowed to line up in the “short-distance” taxi pick-up line once within an hour.

Since the service’s launch at Beijing North station, reports of driver refusal of short-distance trips have fallen sharply, with the short-distance trip acceptance rate estimated to have increased by 60 percent. Beijing Chaoyang, Beijing and Qinghe railway stations have adopted similar services.

Beijing To Host World Aquatics Championship in 2026

Beijing will host the 2026 World Aquatics Short-Course Swimming Championships, having been selected by the World Aquatics Bureau after an intense bidding process. The event will unite more than 1,000 top swimmers from over 200 countries in the capital over a period of six days late next year.

Formerly known as the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), World Aquatics is the International Olympic Committee-recognized governing body for all official international water sport competitions. 

Beijing has previously hosted 38 World Aquatics events, and has long been recognized for its excellent track record of hosting international sporting events of all kinds.  

Beijing has also already been chosen as the host for the 2029 World Aquatics Swimming Championships. 

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Images: Unsplash, Beijing Fabu