A survey by China Youth Daily and www.sina.com, a popular portal, has found that over two-thirds of netizens are willing to give up their seats to those in greater need in public transport.

The survey points out that nearly half of the 4,000 survey participants said that they felt uneasy about the government's move to reward commuters who offer their seats with prizes.

During rush hours, public transit in Beijing is usually congested, and the elderly and the weak have been complaining about the bad service. In order to help them, the Beijing municipal government issued a new policy two months ago, sending out record cards, which can later reward those helpers with some material returns.

A lady surnamed Zhu, however, says she is afraid of being seen as giving up her seat just to win a prize. She said that such moral actions do not require payment in return.

Jiang Zhenyu, a professor with China University of Political Science and Law, says he does not support the government's idea, saying that morality is worth more than prizes. A more civilized act can only be promoted in a long-term perspective by education but not by giving material reward.

According to the survey, over 85 percent of netizens agreed that giving up seats is virtuous, but not a compulsory obligation.

In addition, the newspaper says the majority of netizens surveyed called for a better public transit system for a comfortable journey.