SHENZHEN transport authority is planning to open 48 bus routes ahead of the Spring Festival with seven of them starting to run yesterday.

The seven routes operated by the Shenzhen Bus Group were mainly branch buses connecting communities, enterprises and industrial parks.

Among the routes, 15 will operate inside the Special Economic Zone, focusing on traffic congestion in the Nanshan CBD, Longzhu area in Xili Subdistrict, Dameisha and OCT East in Yantian District.

The transport authority will open eight cross-district bus routes, including four express bus routes and four trunk bus routes, operating between the Bao'an CBD, Longhua, Pingshan New Zone and districts inside the Special Economic Zone.

The authority received about 8,000 suggestions to improve the city transport network from March to September. The decision was made after a survey of 34,000 respondents in companies, neighborhoods and villages.