On July 2, a panel of experts told a public hearing into ticket-pricing on the soon-to-be-opened Beijing airport metro link that they favored the cheaper fare on offer.

Two options were up for debate: prices of a one-way ticket on the 28.1-kilometer railway from traffic hub Dongzhimen to Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) could be 25 yuan (US$3.7) or 30 yuan (US$4.4).

Most of the panel opted for the cheaper option; 17 out of the total 25 public representatives favored the 25-yuan price option. They said the price should be reviewed after a period in operation when currently uncertain factor like passenger volume, income and cost could be taken into account. Only one said he supported the 30-yuan price plan.

The 25 representatives included ten experts from various government agencies and higher learning institutes, 11 consumer representatives and four from the metro company.

With opinions from the hearing as reference, the final price will be announced within a few days.

Construction of the 6.2-billion-yuan metro line started on June 1, 2005. It officially opens to the public some time this month, but officials have not revealed the date.

A taxi from Dongzhimen to the airport costs 67 yuan, and a one-way ticket on a shuttle bus costs 16 yuan. The cost of self-driving is estimated at about 42 yuan.

The new metro line, with four stops, takes 16 minutes from Dongzhimen to the airport, about half the time of the shuttle bus journey.

Each train can carry a maximum of 218 passengers, all seated, while the interval between trains will be 10 minutes. It will be shortened to five minutes by 2010.

Public hearings have become increasingly important in decision-making in China. A regulation released in 2001 stipulated that prices of electricity, railway and flight tickets and such like should be determined after a hearing. A recent example was when China banned free plastic shopping bags on June 1 and a hearing was held on charging over plastic bags in supermarkets.