The Grassroots Practice of Integrated Urban-Rural Transportation Self- Assessment Achieving a 5A Rating and the Pathways for Enhancing Logistics Efficiency

Abstract

Urban-rural integrated transport is a foundational infrastructure undertaking for advancing rural revitalisation, facilitating the circulation of goods and capital between urban and rural areas, and realising common prosperity. Drawing on Qingyuan County’s practice of achieving the highest 5A rating in the provincial urban-rural integrated transport self-assessment for three consecutive years (2022–2025), this paper examines three core modules: rural road network development, passenger-freight-postal (PFP) integration, and digitised maintenance management. It analyses the collaborative logic underpinning these modules and situates the self-assessment instrument within a performance management framework. Findings indicate that the self-assessment mechanism functions not merely as an external verification tool but as an internal management engine driving county-level transport from “accessibility” to “efficiency”. Through cross-departmental collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and a sustainable safeguard system, the county has achieved a reduction of over 30% in last-mile logistics costs and an improvement of one to two days in urban-rural circulation efficiency. The paper further identifies three structural constraints and proposes four optimisation pathways — encompassing e-commerce and PFP linkage, data platform integration, grassroots talent development, and conversion of assessment findings into governance action — offering a replicable model for similar mountainous counties.