Gasgoo.com (Shanghai February 9) - Mr. Long, a bus driver in the Guangxi region, located in the far south of the country, has been encountering a very annoying problem lately: in the past few days, the bus routes he takes have been severely jammed up. A ride which would normally only take a few minutes now takes him over an hour and a half to complete.
Following rapid economic development and average citizens' incomes increasing, the Chinese automobile market has burst forward, with 2010 sales exceeding 18 million vehicles. While the benefits of having the world's largest auto market allow Chinese consumers to enjoy a more convenient lifestyle, traffic congestion has become a serious problem for many cities in the country. This is no more evident than in Beijing, where the government had had no choice but to implement several strong policies to tackle congestion problems. According to all signs, the congestion 'illness' look to spread across smaller cities throughout the country.
Judging from this year's Lunar New Year holiday, this illness has already began 'infecting' China's villages. However, Mr. Long is undeterred, saying that he is thankful for the popularization of automobiles. "Currently, our villages are becoming richer by the day, with more and more people buying cars," he said. "With all [of the people] returning home to see relatives during the Spring Festival on top of that, the roads are too full!"
Mr. Long's heartfelt statements are reflected in statistics issued by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS): In 2010, the average gross income for Chinese villagers was 5,919 yuan ($904.45), an increase of 14.9% from the previous year. This rapid rise in villager's spending power has drawn the attention of many automobile companies, who are beginning to shift their sights towards the country's villages.
This so-called 'market with the most potential' is also prone to suffering the same traffic problems the cities have been facing for years. However, experts believe that this trend will motivate authorities to construct better infrastructure for villages, allowing them to develop even further.
