More bus routes will relocate terminals to sites near the Meilin and Nantou checkpoints linking areas inside and outside the special economic zone, to facilitate commuters and relieve long-plagued traffic jams, according to the local communications bureau Monday.

The new routes will be operational after the Spring Festival holidays, the bureau said.

Nine bus routes including 612, 620, 621, 622, 624, 787, 788, 812 and 990 will have new terminals outside the special zone near the Meilin Checkpoint, which links Longgang District and downtown, while another 11 routes will be inside.

In recent years, with Shenzhen's rapid economic growth and urban development, an increasing number of large residential compounds have been built outside the special economic zone, raising the number of workers who commute to downtown. Complaints have piled up on traffic jams at the checkpoints, with commuters grumbling over the difficulties of catching a bus during morning rush-hour congestion.

The bureau said with more bus terminals, people can easily transit to their destinations, which will step up passenger flow in the area.

Currently, more than 80,000 vehicles pass through the Meilin Checkpoint every day.

Traffic congestion at the Nantou Checkpoint linking Bao'an and downtown has also proved challenging for the local government in recent years, with a daily passenger flow of 186,400.

Li Jing

Editor: Yan