In two days, the 2024 Spring Festival will officially begin. It is predicted that 9 billion people will flow within 40 days of this year's Spring Festival, a record high. What's even more amazing is that 7.2 billion of the 9 billion trips were self-driving, which is also a record high. Why is self-driving travel so popular this year? What will be the road network and road conditions by then? Is there any change in the free passage policy? The Spring Festival Observation will take you to know in advance.
On January 22, people buy Spring Festival ornaments at Li Cun Daji in Qingdao City, Shandong Province (drone photo). The Spring Festival is approaching, and lights are lit up everywhere. People visit the flower market, enjoy the lanterns, buy New Year's goods, and the taste of the New Year is getting stronger. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Zhang Ying)
7.2 billion self-driving trips This year's Spring Festival has undergone structural changes
The 2024 Spring Festival lasts from January 26 to March 5, a total of 40 days. At the press conference held by the State Council Information Office a few days ago, Li Yang, deputy head of the comprehensive transport Spring Festival work team and vice minister of the Ministry of Transport, introduced that structural changes have taken place in this year's Spring Festival: the number of traditional commercial transportation, including railways, highways, civil aviation, and water transport, is expected to be about 1.8 billion passengers, and the remaining 80% will be self-driving trips.
In other words, of the total 9 billion trips, 7.2 billion are self-driving. This change has also led to a record number of self-driving trips.
On January 23, in Wenling City, Zhejiang Province, people were clearing snow and ice from the road. Recently, affected by the cold wave weather, many places in the mainland ushered in cooling and snowfall, and all localities actively organized relevant departments to carry out anticoagulation and snow removal work to ensure safety and smoothness. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Zhou Xuejun)
The peak of the highway network is expected to occur on the eighth day of the first lunar month to avoid congestion and off-peak travel
7.2 billion self-driving trips are undoubtedly a huge amount of traffic for the road network. According to forecasts and analysis, including the highway network and the national (provincial) road network, the average daily traffic volume of daily trips is expected to reach 37.2 million, an increase of 7.5% over the same period last year.
The peak is expected to occur on February 17 (the eighth day of the first lunar month), when the return peak is expected, and the peak of the expressway is expected to reach 65.2 million vehicles, which is about 1.75 times the average traffic volume of the road network during the Spring Festival. Among them, the peak traffic of buses will reach 62.7 million. At that time, the traffic flow will be very large, and everyone should be prepared to avoid congestion and off-peak travel.
The free passage policy of the car highway is not only unchanged, but also free for 1 more day!
Self-driving travel is so popular, has there been any change in the high-speed toll policy during the Spring Festival holiday?
In accordance with the requirements of the State Council, the Ministry of Transport has issued an announcement to the public that this year's free highway policy for cars will not only remain unchanged, but also one day longer than the 8-day Spring Festival holiday!
It is from 00:00 on February 9 (Chinese New Year's Eve) to 24:00 on February 17 (the eighth day of the first lunar month), free for 9 days!
Take multiple measures to improve self-driving travel services to make your Spring Festival travel experience smoother
In addition to the peak of the road network on the return day of the eighth day of the first month, Li Yang introduced that although the Spring Festival travel is 40 days, although the time span is large, the traffic of the road network will always be in a relatively saturated state. On February 17 (the eighth day of the first lunar month), the road network was under heavy pressure during peak hours such as returning after the holiday and returning home before the holiday.
This year's inter-provincial travel characteristics are also more prominent. During the Spring Festival transportation period, including before and after the Spring Festival, the flow of workers, family visits, and logistics will be superimposed, and long-distance inter-provincial travel will increase significantly. It is expected that 99% of the buses on the road will be passenger cars.
On January 20, the new energy electric vehicle was charged at the fully liquid-cooled supercharging station of the Coconut Speed Charge Haikou Cultural and Sports Park in Haikou City, Hainan Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Pu Xiaoxu
In view of the road network situation, Li Yang introduced that the Ministry of Transport will take multiple measures to improve self-driving travel services, including strengthening the diversion of congested road sections, improving the traffic capacity of toll stations, and optimizing wrecker clearance and rescue. During the Spring Festival transportation period, in response to the needs of large passenger flows, mobile toilets and mobile charging facilities will be added to the service area to provide services for vehicle parking, charging and refueling.
On January 22, at a highway toll station in Loudi City, Hunan Province, a snow plow truck was operating (drone photo). Recently, affected by the cold wave weather, many places in the mainland ushered in cooling and snowfall, and all localities actively organized relevant departments to carry out anticoagulation and snow removal work to ensure safety and smoothness. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Wu Yonghua)
There is also a warm tip: the Ministry of Transport has launched the "e-road unblocked" WeChat applet, you can find the nearest charging pile through the "e-road unblocked", if there is a problem with the car, you can also click "sunshine rescue". If you encounter an accident, you can "call for help with one click" through the applet. If you encounter some unpleasant things during the trip and want to complain and suggest, you can call the hotline "12328" transportation service supervision hotline.