BEIJING, May 3 -- The passenger volume handled by China's commercial transport network during the May Day holiday could hit over 270 million trips, or a daily average of 54.04 million, up 162.9 percent from a year ago, the Ministry of Transport projected Wednesday.

During the five-day holiday ending Wednesday, the first such holiday since China optimized its COVID-19 response measures, the country's railways are expected to see a daily average of 18.18 million passenger trips, up 464.4 percent from the 2022 May Day holiday, said the ministry.

The daily average passenger flow by air is likely to reach 1.88 million trips, 507.4 percent higher than the same period last year, while the figures for highways and waterways are expected to jump by 99.1 percent and 114.2 percent, respectively, it said.

Expressway traffic flow during the holiday is expected to grow by 101.83 percent to nearly 62.1 million trips per day, according to the ministry.