Sinopec offers free refuelling service for migrant workers

Sinopec's subsidiary in Guangdong Province will offer free refuelling services for migrant workers going home by motorcycle or minibus during the upcoming annual travel rush, known as "chunyun."

A total of 10,000 free "refuelling packages" will be given out to motorists, with free pumping, accident insurance and warm clothes included, the company said on Monday, 13 days before chunyun begins.

In addition, the company will offer 1,000 more free refuelling items to those going home by minibus, according to the company's general manager, Chen Chengmin. The engine displacement of each minibus must not exceed 1.3 liters.

The service will be offered in the provinces of Guangdong and Hunan, and south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, but only those working in Guangdong will be eligible to apply.

The applicants must have household registration in Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan or Jiangxi, the six localities with the largest number of migrant workers.

China's transportation system will carry a record number of passengers during the upcoming peak travel period around the Lunar New Year Festival, with up to 2.91 billion trips to be made via road, railway, air and water between Jan. 24 and March 3.

With intense competition for train tickets, many of the country's more than 260 million migrant workers choose to go home by motorcycle or minibus before the lunar new year, or Spring Festival, which is often a once-a-year chance for them to reunite with family.

Guangdong has one of the country's biggest migrant worker populations. It is the fourth consecutive year that state-run oil and gas giant Sinopec has offered the service in Guangdong.

The company started to take registrations via its official website and WeChat account on Monday. The application period will last until Jan. 21. Endi