Bus Drivers Charged for Exceeding Energy-Consumption Targets? Frontline Workers Should Not Bear the Cost of Public-Service Management

Guancha.cn published an in-depth commentary arguing that public-transport management should distinguish factors drivers can control, such as rapid acceleration, abrupt braking, and extended idling, from factors they cannot control, including vehicle age and condition, battery or engine performance, route gradients, congestion, passenger loads, and temperature. Citing Zonglan News, the article reported that more than 60% of drivers at the branch where a driver using the pseudonym Liu Xia worked had deductions totaling nearly RMB 3,000 in July; Liu said deductions attributed to vehicle condition had totaled nearly RMB 1,000 since March and increased after air-conditioning use began. The commentary characterized shifting costs caused by uncontrollable factors to individual workers as a downward transfer of responsibility and said persistent deductions could affect public-service quality. It also reported that Lanzhou Bus Group began a comprehensive review of energy-consumption assessments at its seven passenger-transport companies on August 8.