Train Ticket Refund Fee（在线收听）

The Railways Ministry's new regulation for train ticket refunds went into effect yesterday. Passengers now only have to pay 5 percent of the cost of their tickets as the refund fee compared to 20 percent of the ticket price that they had to pay for a refund prior to the new policy.

In addition, the Railways Ministry says tickets for all bullet trains will be sold online by the end of September, which will be very convenient for passengers who want to take trips during the National Day holiday.

Our reporter Zhangwan has the story.

 
The Railways Ministry's new regulation issued yesterday cuts fees for ticket refunds from 20 percent of the ticket's price to 5 percent.

What do passengers who got refunds on the first day of the new policy have to say?

"I came here to refund the ticket on September 24th, and the staff told me that the fee would be decreased to 5 percent of the ticket price the next day. So I waited until the 25th to refund my ticket."

"I have spent much less on a refund. My ticket is 185 yuan, and I saved 27 yuan by getting a refund today."

How will the new regulation affect passengers as well as the Railways Ministry?

Professor Ou Guoli from Beijing Jiaotong University explains.

"Deterring scalpers might be one of the reasons that the Railways Ministry set the 20 percent refund fee in the past. But I think the most effective way to deter scalpers is to promote transport capacity so that the passengers can buy a ticket whenever they want to take the train. The carrying capacity is most important thing."

Yet, others worry that the lower refund fees could be good news for scalpers, who will pay less when they turn in tickets if they fail to find buyers.

Nevertheless, Professor Ou says the new regulation will be beneficial in the long run.

"The new rules might have some influence on certain trains, but generally speaking, I think the ministry should make passenger interest the priority; that is to say, to make it more convenient for the passengers."

Apart from the new refund regulation, the ministry also plans to sell tickets for all bullet trains online by the end of September.

For people who want to make a trip during the National Day holiday, now is the time to buy train tickets. Yet, many people still choose to wait for hours at ticket windows instead of buying online. Some of them say they are not aware that there are other ways to buy the tickets, while others say they are not familiar with buying online and have some concerns about it.

"It's convenient to buy a train ticket online, because it requires less time. But it takes much longer if I need to get a ticket refund. If the refund time could be shortened, then I would choose online buying."

According to the new regulation, passengers who buy train tickets online must refund their tickets at least two hours before their scheduled departure time and then they will receive a refund after 20 working days.

Because of the large number of visits to the Railways Ministry's official website, passengers may have difficulties registering and paying for their ticket orders. This is another factor that has deterred some passengers from buying train tickets online.

To solve the problems, the ministry has set up a hotline for ticket reservations as well as some self-service machines in railway stations so passengers can buy train tickets with their second-generation ID cards.

For CRI, I'm Zhangwan.