Twenty-one people have been killed and 83 others injured in three separate traffic accidents since the Spring Festival travel season that runs from February 3 to March 14, said China's communication authorities yesterday.

A bus carrying 41 passengers from Guangdong Province to Guizhou Province collided with another bus with 48 people aboard on a highway in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the morning of February 3.

The collision left 13 people dead and injured 75 others.

Police said the bus violated traffic rules and was to blame for the accident.

On February 6, a mini-bus with two passengers ran into a crowd of people at an outdoor market in Linmushan Village of Shitun Town, Guizhou Province. Five people were killed and three others were hospitalized.

The cause of the accident is still being investigated.

The third road accident, which claimed three lives and sent five others to hospital, occurred on February 5 when a bus with eight people aboard overturned in Yunnan Province, southwest China.

The cause of the accident was not disclosed.

The Ministry of Communications has called on communication authorities to ensure travelers arrive safely.

The ministry urged local authorities to supervise safety measures at bus stops and ban passengers from carrying dangerous goods. Local authorities are also required to stop unsafe and overloaded buses.

Local communication authorities have been checking transportation enterprises and their employees, and educating drivers.

Each day, more than 700,000 buses carry more than 50 million people during the Spring Festival, the Ministry of Communications said.

A total of 2.17 billion passenger trips will occur during the Spring Festival season, up 4.9 percent from last year's holiday season.

The National Development and Reform Commission said trains will carry people on a record 155 million trips, up 4.3 percent, during the 40-day travel peak.

Meanwhile, the government predicts nearly two billion trips by road, up five percent, 28.41 million trips by water, up two percent, and 19.3 million trips by air, up 9.4 percent.