Premier Wen Jiabao has told a group of young model workers visiting Beijing’s Zhongnanhai that public transport should be the government’s first priority in planning urban transport infrastructure. This is not just about creating physical things such as bus lanes, he said, but also providing assistance in various ways including fuel supply, ticket pricing, worker remuneration and management.

He was speaking to around 20 young representatives from all walks of life, including a model bus driver who has been driving for 10 years, covering 250,000km without “an incident”.