A farmer carrying bags of agricultural products for sale heads towards a market after getting off a dedicated bus in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 3, 2024. (Xinhua/Wu Zhizun)

　　WUHAN, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- Before sunrise, more than a dozen farmers gather at He Station in a suburb of Wuhan, in central China's Hubei Province, waiting for a special bus, together with baskets and bags filled with fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables.

　　“People like eating fresh lotus seeds, so we pick them at around 3 a.m.,“ said Tu Jixing, adding that he can earn more than 300 yuan (about 42.73 U.S. dollars) a day by selling about 10 kg of lotus seeds.

　　Tu is one of many passengers along the bus route who catch the bus every morning, carrying bags and baskets filled with fresh food, including peppers, tomatoes, fish and eggs.

　　Taking the dedicated bus for vegetable transportation, farmers are able to sell agricultural and sideline products in a large wholesale market in the urban area of the city, more than 40 km away from He Station, the departure point of the route. The bus fare is 5 yuan for a single trip.

　　“It's much more convenient now, and it doesn't cost much for a round trip,“ said Tu.

　　Tu recalled that in the past, various areas around his village were not covered by public transport. Most people didn't want to rent vehicles or call a taxi to transport vegetables, as the cost was too high. So they would feed the surplus vegetables to livestock.

　　The problem faced by farmers attracted the attention of the local public transportation company. At the end of 2020, it established a new bus route to meet the needs of villagers selling goods.