Shenzhen will penalize bus companies which make their drivers work overtime, in a bid to prevent road accidents caused by fatigue driving.

A joint taskforce comprising officials from the local transportation bureau and labor bureau will begin a citywide inspection Oct. 23 on all bus routes to catch violators.

"We are still discussing the punishment terms for bus firms that violate the regulation," said Zeng Fanyong with the transportation bureau yesterday. "It's likely that we will issue a red ticket to violators and suspend them on certain routes."

Chen Jingsong, driver of Bus No. 333 run by the Shenzhen Zona Transportation Group, had been driving nearly 18 hours nonstop when he collided with a container truck on Luosha Road in Luohu District on the night of June 29. Many other drivers working on the same route complained about the long hours. "Sixteen hours a day behind the wheels, or even longer, will kill me sooner or later, although we work two days and get one day off,¡± said one of Chen's coworkers.

Though insiders say a number of bus companies violate the eight-hour work limit, two big companies, the Shenzhen Bus Group and the Xihu Group fully respect the labor law.

"Our drivers each have to work only half a day," said Wu Jixiong, manager of Xihu. "Although we spend 5,000 yuan (US$625) more a month on each bus for keeping an extra driver, that's a small part of the total operating expense.¡±

A spokeswoman for the Shenzhen Bus Group said they either have drivers work a half-day schedule or give them a lunch break to keep their driving time restricted to within eight hours a day.

"We will send 10 groups, each manned by two to four people, to inspect all the bus routes in the city," said an official surnamed Zhang with the municipal labor bureau.

The municipal transportation bureau has ordered all bus companies to carry out a one-month self-inspection.

Editor: Donald