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Danwei Model Worker Award
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It's not fare!
In another step on the march to socialism, Liuzhou's Bus Co. did the unthinkable and raised the bus fares on Wednesday, 1st March. Prior to that, 99% of Liuzhou buses took you wherever you desired at a flat rate of ¥1 (7 pence UK, 12 cents US). Now you are required to come up a whole ¥1.20 (8½ pence UK, 15 cents US).
Apart from the daylight robbery, this raises serious issues. I normally have a supply of one yuan notes to hand, but those little coins or grubby little one jiao notes are messy and not really to be dealt with. The ¥1 fare has been applicable for as long as living memory (or at least since I first arrived here, nine years ago) so has come as a great shock.
The local news media have however mollified the populace by running stories from responsible citizens praising the authority's decision to charge them more to move around in dangerously overcrowded and badly driven death traps.
By the way, I once accidentally seriously offended some Chinese person by referring to the low value notes as "toilet money". No offense was intended - it was just that the only place I ever used them was in public toilets, places I tend to avoid! Now I can use my toilet money on the buses! Unfortunately, I tend to avoid the buses almost as much as the toilets.