Transportation services across China are undergoing a visible transformation, with traditional coach stations no longer the sole boarding points as urban rail transit exits become convenient pickup spots. The vehicle fleet has diversified beyond standard coaches to include mini-buses, while flexible route planning now enables personalized door-to-door services. According to the recently released China Customized Passenger Transport Development Report (2025), the number of customized transport routes grew at an average annual rate of 36.9% during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. By the end of last year, approximately 3,600 coach operators nationwide had deployed over 70,000 vehicles to run more than 11,000 customized service routes, marking a year-on-year increase of roughly 25% and significantly boosting commercial road passenger volumes.
The revival of this once-stagnant sector raises a key question: how has customized passenger transport achieved its rapid resurgence? Recent field visits across multiple regions shed light on the strategies driving this transformation.
Cross-Regional Collaboration
At the banks of the Chaobai River, dawn breaks over Yanjiao Town in Langfang, Hebei Province. Outside the Hawaii Blue Bay residential complex, commuters heading to Beijing gather in small groups, awaiting a bus that will take them to the capital. After passing through security checks, ID verification, and facial recognition, the bus arrives promptly at 6:30 AM. Han Yun, a woman born in the 1980s, efficiently completes the boarding process and steps aboard the service bound for Beijing's Guomao business district. Having commuted across the provincial border for six years while residing in Hebei's Yanjiao and working in Guomao, she notes the stark improvement in her daily travel experience. Previously, carpooling was expensive and unreliable, while buses were crowded, offered no guaranteed seating, and required at least 90 minutes each way. Now, the customized commuter bus provides guaranteed seating, advance booking through a mini-program, pickup right at her residential complex, real-time vehicle tracking, and a direct one-hour journey to Guomao for just 18 yuan.
The key to this upgrade lies in the concept of customization. Stop locations and schedules are no longer determined solely by operators but are shaped by passenger demand. Over 100,000 valid surveys combined with hundreds of face-to-face interviews have captured the precise needs of commuters, which are then translated into route planning. The Jingu Aishuhe stop, for instance, was added in response to requests from nearby residents over the past two years. Since the pilot route launched in 2022, stops have expanded from a handful to numerous large residential communities, according to driver Wang Ying, who regularly operates on the line connecting the northern three counties of Langfang, Hebei, to Beijing.
Behind this customized service lies a broader cross-regional innovation effort. The customized commuter bus network links Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, requiring coordination among transportation, public security, and urban management authorities. By establishing collaborative mechanisms, administrative and regional barriers have been dismantled. The Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport notes that the resulting Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Customized Commuter Bus service platform offers multiple advantages: regular coordination mechanisms among the three regions' transport departments, fast-track approval for new routes, simplified filing for routine stop adjustments, and a unified platform operated by the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Intercity Bus Service Company. Passengers complete identity verification during online ticket purchase, enabling direct passage through Beijing entry checkpoints without secondary inspection. Additionally, the buses are permitted to use dedicated bus lanes, further speeding up travel within urban areas. The network now spans 12 main routes and 60 branch lines, extending to multiple areas including the Xiong'an New Area, with daily passenger volumes exceeding 10,000.
The accelerated development of customized commuter buses is turning the one-hour commuting circle around Beijing into a tangible reality. The success of customized passenger transport stems from its departure from the traditional fixed model where buses must enter stations and passengers must gather at designated points, instead establishing a more flexible and precise door-to-door service system, explains an official from the Ministry of Transport's Academy of Transport Sciences. In 2025, nine customized transport service platforms, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei commuter bus, integrated resources from 1,495 passenger transport enterprises nationwide, set up 98,900 stops, and completed over 78 million customized passenger trips with transaction volumes nearing 2.8 billion yuan.
Scenario-Based Services
In the tropical botanical garden of Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province, a bus adorned with vibrant rainforest-inspired colors catches the eye. Inside, artificial plants and plush toys create an immersive microcosm of a tropical rainforest. This themed bus, named Rainforest Heart, was jointly developed by Didi Chuxing and Xishuangbanna Nakunman Transport Company and proved instantly popular upon its launch in December. Driver Wang Wenjin recalls that over a year ago, the long-distance route from Kunming to Jinghong he frequently operated had largely ceased operations, leading to reduced income. Today, as the dedicated driver of this themed bus, his monthly earnings exceed 5,000 yuan.
This change stems from a complementary partnership between online platforms and traditional transport operators. Under the Didi Bus model, transport companies provide vehicles, drivers, and operating licenses, while Didi contributes technical expertise and data-driven route and capacity planning, dynamically adjusting schedules, stops, and routes. Partner operators have shifted from fixed-route services to an internet-plus passenger transport model. Over the past year, the Rainforest Heart tourism route has carried more than 380,000 passengers with an average load factor of around 80%, often selling out during peak tourist seasons.
This collaborative model between internet platforms and traditional coach operators is bringing conventional buses back into daily life in diverse ways. In Lishui, Zhejiang Province, a medical shuttle route stops at the Eastern Campus of Lishui People's Hospital with dedicated pickup and drop-off points, facilitating access for patients from surrounding counties. In Nanning, Guangxi, two student-specific routes linking Nanning to Wuming University Town and Nanning to Fusui offer low fares and cover multiple metro stations, addressing commuting challenges for college students. In Xingtai, Hebei, Xingtai Jiaojian Huaying Intercity Bus has partnered with Didi to launch online ticketing for intercity night bus services, providing safe and economical options for evening commuters and those returning from other cities.
Aligning services with specific travel scenarios has become a major driver of customized passenger transport growth. In 2025, customized transport platforms collaborated with coach operators to develop numerous specialized routes catering to high-frequency travel needs such as commuting, medical visits, tourism, and school runs, better meeting passengers' scenario-based, precise, and differentiated travel demands while enhancing overall satisfaction.
Digital Transformation
As evening approaches in Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area, an orange electric bus bearing the Convenient Express Bus logo pulls up steadily at Min'an Avenue Rail Transit Station. An elderly passenger surnamed Zhang comments on the convenience: "I get off the metro and board the bus right away." He had taken the morning service to Chongqing for a day of hotpot and sightseeing, planning to return the same evening to Wuguiqiao Bus Station in Chengdu. "Round trip costs 100 yuan, very reasonable," he adds.
Wuguiqiao Station holds historical significance as a landmark of the old Chengdu-Chongqing passenger route. When the Chengyu Expressway opened in 1995, the station began operations, and intercity buses became the primary mode of transport between the two cities. At its peak, up to 100 buses operated daily between Wuguiqiao and Chongqing, carrying as many as 3,000 passengers per day. Two decades later, the advent of the Chengyu high-speed railway caused a sharp decline in long-distance bus services, with annual passenger numbers plummeting from 5.8 million at their height to just 380,000 by 2022. In June 2023, after 28 years of operation, Wuguiqiao Station closed entirely, and the Chengdu-Chongqing long-distance routes fell silent.
The turning point came this year. On June 26, the Chengdu-Chongqing Convenient Express Bus officially resumed operations, and Wuguiqiao Station, once sidelined by high-speed rail, returned in a new capacity as a customized transport stop. What explains this route's rebirth? Wan Yuesheng, deputy general manager of Chengdu Fulim Changyun Group, offers a candid assessment: traditional passenger transport lost to high-speed rail not just on speed but on its entire operational model. Compared to conventional services, the Convenient Express Bus operates with lighter assets, stays closer to actual demand, and offers better value. By shedding the heavy costs of maintaining large stations, setting up flexible stops at transport hubs, and switching to new-energy vehicles, the savings are passed on through lower fares, enabling sustainable operations.
Digitalization underpins these cost reductions and efficiency gains. The Tianfuxing online platform leverages big data to enable precise, customized operations. Based on passenger flow data, the service has eliminated remote stations in favor of convenient stops near metro hubs, residential areas, and commercial districts, allowing passengers to board nearby and transfer easily. It also abandons fixed routes, dynamically optimizing lines based on ridership patterns for flexible adjustments. In just over a month since operations resumed, the Chengdu-Chongqing Convenient Express Bus has carried nearly 80,000 passengers with an occupancy rate exceeding 80%.
Digital upgrading is essential to the smooth operation of the Convenient Express Bus, notes an official from the China Road Transport Association. By integrating digital technologies into product design, customer acquisition, and vehicle scheduling, operational efficiency has improved substantially. To date, 27 provinces and over 300 passenger transport enterprises have launched Convenient Express Bus brand promotion efforts across more than 600 routes.
At a deeper level, the route's resurgence is rooted in diverse travel demands. High-speed rail offers speed, while buses provide economy; the reintroduction of express buses creates differentiated complementarity with rail, giving passengers more choices. Plans are underway to explore intelligent customer service, automated scheduling, and passenger flow forecasting to further drive data-based operational decisions. As high-speed rail handles long-distance efficiency and buses cater to varied daily needs, the layering of travel options brings cities closer together. For the coach industry, this represents not just a return to relevance but a fresh opportunity for growth.
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