英闻天下——436 School Bus Permits to Lapse after 3 Years

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　　"Ride Sharing Can Ease Traffic, Environment Woes¹"

 

　　Daily free ride sharing is now urged in Beijing.

 

　　A campaign of car pooling has been initiated² by charity big names Wang Yong and Deng Fei and CCTV broadcasters Lang Yongchun and Zhao Pu before this year's Spring Festival.

 

　　The campaign helped some 10,000 people go home by pairing up with private car drivers as train tickets were hard to grab during spring festival.

 

　　Now the campaigners called on private car owners and passengers to share rides not only during festivals, but in daily commuting³ or even an occasional ride.

 

　　Beijing now has 5.2 million vehicles. Among the 5.2 million, 3.5 million are private vehicles. Wang Yong, one of the campaigner said sharing rides can help reduce at least 10% of the vehicles running on the road.

 

　　People can find their ride share partners through an app, an SMS service (send 66 to 1066958800) or an official website (www.shunfengche.org/).

 

　　All the systems present personal information if people want to pair up and get insurance coverage⁴ for free after they reach an online agreement to travel together.

 

　　Global Times

 

　　"School Bus Permits to Lapse⁵ after 3 Years"

 

　　Shanghai's education commission has required all school bus operating permits to be renewed every three years.

 

　　The requirement aims to ensure nearly 2,000 school buses in the city are fit to transport students, as it specifies⁶ how long a school bus can operate before undergoing the inspection⁷ required to renew the permit.

 

　　Education officials disclosed the new requirement on Tuesday at a working conference for the Shanghai Youth Protection Office.

 

　　The education commission implemented⁸ new regulations last August that required all school buses in the city to obtain operating permits.

 

　　Starting from September, every school bus operating in the city will also have to install special signs and lights.

 

　　Zeng Yanbo, a researcher at the Institute of Youth and Juvenile⁹ Studies of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences applauded the requirement. But he said it is more important to improve how the vehicles are managed.

 

　　Several past bus-related accidents occurred because the buses were overloaded¹⁰, not because of mechanical problems. Some schools resorted to overloading¹¹ the buses to save money.

 

　　Channel News Asia

 

　　"Study Proves Caffeine Helps Prevent Road Crash Risk"

 

　　Research among long-distance commercial drivers in Australia proves coffee, or caffeine energy drinks help prevent dangerous traffic accident.

 

　　Investigators¹² looked at crashes between 2008 and 2011 in New South Wales and Western Australia that involved vehicles of at least 12 tonnes.

 

　　They compared 530 drivers who had crashed while on a long trip with nearly 520 drivers who had not had an accident in the previous 12 months.

 

　　The researchers found drivers who consumed caffeine to help them stay awake were 63 percent less likely to crash than those who did not take a caffeinated substance.

 

　　Taking caffeine "should be considered as an effective adjunct strategy" for keeping alert while driving, but breaks, sleep and regular exercise are also essential.

 

　　The study was published by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on Tuesday.

 

　　Australia Network News

 

　　"Sea Shepherd Claims 800 Whales Saved From Japanese Harpoons¹³"

 

　　The anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd has come back to dock in Australia.

 

　　The group's spokesman, Bob Brown, says it saved 800 whales from Japan's fleet.

 

　　The former Australian Senator once again called on the Australian Government to have a physical presence in the Southern Ocean.

 

　　Sea Shepherd has been involved in several skirmishes with Japan's whaling fleet during the past three months.

 

　　Japan has called Sea Shepherd's actions illegal and the work of pirates.

 

　　It has also said whaling is part of its culture and vowed¹⁴ to maintain the practice.

 

　　However Sea Shepherd's activities have had an immediate¹⁵ impact.

 

　　The group claims the Japanese fleet killed no more than 75 whales this season, which is its smallest haul in the history of its Antarctic hunt.

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