THE city has seen an increasing number of vehicles both leaving and entering the city since the start of the Spring Festival travel rush, according to information released by the Shenzhen Municipal Traffic Police Bureau.

The number of cars entering the city between Jan. 10 and Sunday was 2.85 million, up 21.47 percent year on year, while the figure of those leaving the city was 3.03 million, up 9.54 percent year on year, according to statistics published by the authority.

At present, the traffic at tourist destinations, the airport and bus terminals is flowing smoothly. Peak traffic has occurred on peripheral expressways since Saturday.

Leguang Expressway (Hunan bound) and Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Expressway have seen a continuous flow peak, with cars lined up in the lanes.

Peak traffic was also seen Monday on Guangzhou-Foshan Expressway, the Yangjiang section of Kaiyang Expressway and the Huaiji section of Erguang Expressway.

Additionally, the Dida service for hitching rides to nearby cities, such as Dongguan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Heyuan, Zhongshan and Zhanjiang, was expected to see a peak yesterday.

This year, under the guidance of road traffic control departments in 10 provinces, Dida joined hands with China Communication Television Broadcasting Network to launch a special campaign to ensure passengers’ safety during their trips back to their hometowns, according to Shenzhen Economic Daily.

Many people chose the Dida hitch service to go to their hometowns before the Chinese New Year. According to the platform’s data, the proportion of orders made on the departure day from Shenzhen reached 56.7 percent.

Dida suggested adding instant communication between car drivers and passengers in order to discuss details like number of suitcases after an order is issued to improve the service.

The reporter with the Daily also found that two new functions have been launched on the platform, including a second facial recognition for car drivers and passengers to check, to ensure the car driver lines up with the one registered on the system.

Shenzhen traffic police officers reminded residents not to take unlicensed buses or overloaded buses, and not to drive vehicles without license plates.

At the same time, drivers are advised not to change lanes randomly or drive on the wrong side of expressways to avoid accidents.

(Wang Jingli)