Although the number of passenger trips during the weeklong Spring Festival holiday remained low, it was up from the same period last year, data from the Ministry of Transport showed on Feb 7.

During the holiday, which ended on Feb 6, the national transportation network handled an estimated 130 million passenger trips, a year-on-year increase of 31.7 percent but down 69.2 percent compared with 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The figure included 30.3 million train trips, 91.27 million road trips, 3.05 million trips over water and 5 million plane trips, the ministry said.

Beijing Capital International Airport handled 230,000 passenger trips over the holiday, a year-on-year increase of 4.6 percent.

Due to pandemic control protocols, people were encouraged to travel less, and many chose safer means to travel, such as driving.

Wang Jiaqiong, a housekeeper from Yibin, Sichuan province, drove with her family from Beijing to her hometown before the holiday.

The trip of nearly 2,000 kilometers cost her about 2,000 yuan ($315) and took almost a day.

"My husband and I swapped to drive the car to save time and avoid stopping for a break. It is safer compared with public transport and more convenient," she said, adding that the cost was higher than a train and about the same as a flight.

"We didn't want to bring the virus home," Wang said. "My family at home was more reassured to hear that we drove home."

The transportation sector faced challenges handling more traffic and while carrying out strict pandemic controls.

In Jiangsu province, authorities set up stations at major transportation hubs and along busy national highways where volunteers offered services and promoted pandemic control measures, such as offering face masks and hand wash gel for free.

The transportation department in Sichuan province set up stations offering truck drivers affordable meals and services such as shower and laundry facilities and shared kitchens during the Spring Festival travel rush.

A rescue team stayed on duty over the holiday in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, to offer repair services to cars that broke down. The team had 45 centers across the city, with rescue and repair services dispatched from the closest center once a report of a breakdown was received.

In Guangdong province, 28 charging stations for new energy vehicles were put into operation before the festival to cater to increased demand for such services.

This year's Spring Festival travel rush started on Jan 17 and will end on Feb 25. A total of 1.18 billion passenger trips are expected to be made during the 40-day period.