Policemen publicize traffic safety to pupils in Xiaojia Primary School, Qingdao, Shandong province, on March 21. [Photo/Xinhua]

The Qingdao government plans to promote 600 school buses for rural primary and secondary schools in 2013 and increase the total number of school buses to 3,000 by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15). According to the plan, poverty-stricken students can ride the buses for free. To date, the city has promoted 623 school buses and 1,170 bus lines in rural areas, benefiting nearly 30,000 students from more than 170 schools.