With an ever-expanding list of banned items and never-ending security lines filled with personnel and machines bent on examining every inch of your body, air travel seems destined to eventually become one giant cavity search. And while you think you are safe from this kind of annoyance when you are on ground-based transportation systems, the Chinese city of Urumqi recently proved that they can make traveling by bus just as terrible when they banned liquids onboard. To enforce this already hated ban, local authorities have assigned at least two security guards at every bus stations along the more than 100 bus routes in the city.
Located in the westernmost region of China, the area is home to the Muslim Uighur ethnic minority where tensions can run high between them and the majority Han Chinese. This year, there has been several violent incidents that authorities have connected to separatists that oppose Beijing’s heavy hand in the region. And although no one has linked recent bus fires in eastern Chinese cities to any Uighur separatist movements, the local government in Urumqi is taking no chances and upped security on the city’s bus lines.
Chinese state media began reporting the new rules last week and said that all liquids, even lighters, and anything combustible like fireworks would not be allowed on buses within the city. Every bus stop would be getting airport-style security to make sure passengers comply with the ban. Security officers would even be x-raying bags and checking for explosive residue.
▼ Urumqi citizens can now experience all the joys of air travel—strip searches, throwing away your bottled water, moody security guards—without the hassle of booking a ticket.
▼ Finish that water sir, it’s much too dangerous for the bus
▼ A sign announcing the ban tells bus riders to leave their drinks and cooking oil at home
Needless to say, local residents are not happy about the ban and especially hate the long lines to ride the bus thanks to the new security checks. One such unhappy bus rider told media that they didn’t see the point of banning liquids and the intense security checks besides just wasting tax money. And these new restrictions are on top of existing regulations, such as deliveries to and from shops near the airport not being able to send or receive packages on behalf of someone else.
A local paper reported the local government as saying that the new measures would “strike a severe blow on all forms of criminal activity on public buses.” Authorities didn’t say how long they would continue the security checks at the buses, but riders can probably expect a pretty unpleasant commute for the time being until tensions simmer down. In the meantime, Urumqi bus riders will have to endure the madness until the ban is lifted or a better way to enforce it besides having security guards at every bus stop.
Source: Toychan