Offer of free rides for students praised

Updated: 2012-01-14 09:13

By Su Jiangyuan and Luo Wangshu (China Daily)

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LIUZHI, Guizhou - On a frosty winter dawn in Southwest China's Guizhou province, a bus makes its way along the mountain road linking the two towns.

As it approaches the main road in Langdai, the owner, He Guoliang, 42, blows the horn to let students who live deep in the mountains know he has arrived to drive them to school in Zhongzhai township for free.

Offer of free rides for students praised

At about 7 am, the children cheer and jump onto the bus.

In Liuzhi district, grateful villagers speak of He Guoliang's "free school bus".

The bus originally carried residents between the two towns, but it has served as a free school bus since 2008, when a bitter winter pummeled the region with blizzards and storms.

Early one winter morning in 2008, He saw a crowd of shivering children along the road. "It brought me back to my childhood, like staring at myself walking to school in the winter dawn," He recalled.

Without hesitating, he asked the driver to stop and bring the children to school at no cost. So began the free school bus, which continues to this day.

There is another bus on the same route that charges students 2 yuan (33 cents) for the round trip to school and back.

"Life isn't easy for rural children, who have to walk long distances to school," He said, "I'll give them free rides until my bus business ends."

Twenty-two students, aged 7 to 14, regularly take the bus.

Zhang Pengying, a fourth-grader, said she used to walk an hour and a half to school before He's free bus service. Although she got up at 6 am, she was often late. "Since I've been riding on Uncle He's school bus, I'm rarely late for school," she said.

"Mom told me to remember Uncle He's taking us to school for free, and repay him for his kindness," said third-grader Su Hongli. She said it took only 20 minutes to get to school on the bus.

Li Guang, head of Sifangjing primary school, where most of the children on He's bus study, praises him for "shouldering social responsibility and supporting rural education".

Du Guoxiu, the mother of a student who takes the free school bus, expressed appreciation for He.

Zheng Renwei, director of Liuzhi Bureau of Education in Guizhou, gave He high praise, but is concerned about safety.

Zheng told China Daily that local authorities had discussed a school bus purchase plan and the standard of the bus, but the decision was still pending.

Yang Fuquan in Guizhou contributed to this story.