Compared to many other Chinese cities, Beijing has not been outstanding in improving the quality of daily life for its residents. However, last week, the municipal government of Beijing made an extraordinary decision.

In a city that is plagued by hundreds of traffic jams during every peak time, and in which the fastest means of transportation is still a bicycle, Beijing officials have mustered enough courage to announce a major overhaul of the public transit system. The programme starts on New Year's Day.

The local government's plan can now offer a much-needed sense of certainty for the commuters constantly baffled by the increasing mess caused by the city's helpless car boom.

No matter if the reform is a success or not, the planners deserve some praise for their cleverness and guts.

A considerable amount of money, 4 billion yuan (US$500 million), is to be allocated to the city's bus system each year.

For any public service, more financial commitment is better than less, especially when the government has so much in its coffers. Even if all the money was spent on buying the wrong buses and building the wrong roads, there would still be a report on the spending items to the legislative, and this is always better than public money squandered on banquets.

A part of the public-transport funding package is to be used to subsidize bus tickets. Beijing residents can expect to pay a lower fare than they do now for their daily commutes.

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