Mini-bus transport service helps elderly travel to hospital, return home in southwest China's Chongqing

Chongqing, a mountainous city in southwest China, has been improving its urban governance and modernization efforts to improve the quality of life for its residents by adopting initiatives like the mini-bus transport service, for example.

With a population of more than 30 million people, Chongqing municipality is among the world's largest cities. A new initiative to help people travel across the sprawling metropolis is benefiting the elderly, who are now able to access special mini-buses.

Ninety-one-year-old Xu Fang, a retired medical worker, lives near the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing University. Despite her age, she enjoys shopping with her trolley and needs about 10-minutes to reach the hospital's mini-bus station to start her short journey.

The mini-buses depart from the hospital and stop at four stations connecting old gated communities and nearby shopping centers. They return to the hospital from a different entrance. Each ride costs two yuan, or about 30 U.S. cents, and is free for those over 60.

"We went shopping on foot before and it took about 20 minutes because we had to go across several streets and it’s way too far for seniors like me. Now it only takes us less than 10-minutes to take these buses. It’s very senior-friendly," Xu said.

The hospital receives an average of 10,000 vehicle visits daily, long causing traffic jams. In June, hospital officials cooperated with Chongqing's transport authorities to develop an online system that directs private car drivers to some 10,000 parking spots near the four mini-bus stations. The system allows patients and drivers to easily commute to and from the hospital.

"There are two mini-buses and they work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with about 70 daily bus trips," said Tan Mingshu, staff member with security department of First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing University.

"We can take a mini-bus inside the hospital to other bus stations. It’s very convenient and saves time. We used to fail to catch our buses to travel home because of the crowded and busy traffic in the hospital, but now the problem is solved," said Xiong Chaogui, a retiree in Chongqing.

Mini-bus transport service helps elderly travel to hospital, return home in southwest China's Chongqing

Persistent heavy rainfall has led to rising water levels across the Yangtze River basin, creating significant flood control challenges for the areas along the main streams and tributaries.

The Three Gorges Reservoir, located upstream on the Yangtze in central China's Hubei Province, has been gradually reducing its discharge rate to alleviate pressure on downstream areas. On Thursday, the outflow was reduced from 24,000 cubic meters per second to 18,000 cubic meters per second and was further lowered to 14,000 cubic meters per second on Friday. This has caused the reservoir level to rise by approximately 2.9 meters, storing 1.46 billion cubic meters of floodwater.

One of the Yangtze's major tributaries, the Zijiang River in central China's Hunan Province, has also experienced significant flooding. The Shaoyang hydrological station recorded water levels exceeding the warning level, triggering the fourth flood event of this year on Zijiang.

The Miluo River, another river flowing through Hunan, flows from east to west into Dongting Lake before joining the Yangtze River. On Monday afternoon, the water level at the Pingjiang hydrological station on the Miluo River hit 77 meters, exceeding the warning level by about seven meters.

Torrential rains have affected over 200,000 people in Pingjiang County, with more than 1,000 roads and bridges damaged and public transportation disrupted. No casualties have been reported so far.

In east China's Anhui Province, the town of Huikou in Susong County is the first town the Yangtze enters as it flows into Anhui. Water levels at the Huikou hydrological station have been rising continuously, exceeding the warning level by about one meter by Monday afternoon. The water levels along the main course of the Yangtze River in the province have all exceeded the flood warning levels and continue to rise.

Additionally, 19 tributaries including the Shuiyang River, Chuhe River, and Xihe River have also surpassed their respective warning levels.

Yangtze River basin battles severe flooding after intense rainfall