A PRIVATE bus company with an online reservation system can get Shenzhen rush-hour commuters where they are going for less money than a taxi and — thanks to bus lanes — in less time.

    About 40,000 commuters already use the Dada Bus service and investors are also getting on board, to a tune of 42 million yuan (US$6.77 million) in investments.

    Dada Bus has opened about 100 new routes in the past two months. It now operates 200 routes that cover the Shenzhen High-Tech Park area, Shekou, Chegongmiao and Huaqiangbei.

    The bus company, which is owned by Shenzhen Liuchi Science and Technology Co., allows morning and evening rush-hour commuters to register seats, check bus routes and coordinate what bus stop they will get on through a smartphone app.

    “The bus seat can be reserved on a daily basis, which is much more flexible than other bus companies which require riders to pay fees for the customized service a month ahead of time,” said Zhou Ruijin, Dada Bus’s CEO.

    “The fee of the bus service is 0.4 yuan per kilometer, equivalent to the cost of Metro services.”

    The customized bus service can cut travel time by one-third, according to Zhou, also CEO of Liuchi Science and Technology Co.

    It generally takes about 70 to 90 minutes and costs 7 yuan to travel from the Darunfa Supermarket in Longhua New Area to Keyuan in Nanshan District on public transportation. The same trip takes about 60 minutes by taxi and costs 30 to 60 yuan depending on traffic. In contrast, Dada Bus service can make the trip in 45 minutes at a cost of 8 yuan to riders.

    The Shenzhen Municipal Transportation Commission also plans to build a computerized unified service platform and give private companies access to it so they can coordinate services.

    The customized services are usually contracted and offered by bus companies to individual passengers who pay monthly fares and enjoy door-to-door services between their offices and homes during rush hour.

    Earlier in 2014, Zhongnan Transportation Group opened four customized bus routes for commuters. Shenzhen Bus Group was the first in the city to offer customized bus services, operating two routes from the Meilinyicun housing estate to Huawei Technologies in Longgang District, and from Sijihuacheng in Bantian in Longgang to Shenzhen High-Tech Industrial Park in Nanshan District. (Han Ximin)