Shanghai looks to ride on greener, smarter public transport system
Yan'an Elevated Road in Shanghai
Shanghai will strive to build a greener, smarter as well as a more people-oriented, reliable and resilient transport system in the next 10 years, according to a new white paper issued by local transport authorities on Thursday.
Smarter
In the near future, residents' average commuting time to downtown areas will be shortened to within 45 minutes on average, and they will be well informed about traffic conditions before they leave home via the MaaS (Mobility as a Service) system, according to Zhang Wei, the city's deputy mayor.
Suishenxing, an all-in-one mobile platform for local traffic information, has clubbed together basic commuting services, including public transportation, taxi hailing and smart parking. Users can enjoy a swipe-for-all pass that includes all codes needed to take public transport.
A beautiful night view of Shanghai's busy Yan'an Elevated Road.
Easier
More public transport lines, such as Metro, bus and ferry, with better and more-caring services for disadvantaged people, including children, pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled, are being built, to further improve the city's traffic network.
"With new Metro lines being built, the coverage rate of Metro stations accessible within 600 meters in the main urban areas will exceed 40 percent," Yu Fulin, head of Shanghai Transportation Administration Commission, pointed out.
He said that Shanghai will improve Metro operation capacity and efficiency to ease crowding and control carriage loading rate within 90 percent of the maximum during peak hours.
It is also part of the city's "15-minute community life circle" initiative.
The concept has been introduced in the past year across Shanghai, with the aim of giving residents access to services such as dining, fitness, nursing and health care within a 15-minute walk from their homes.
Also, the metropolis will further strengthen integration of the underground traffic network and surface transport system, making sure that more than 80 percent of Metro stations have bus stops within a radius of 50 meters, Yu noted.
Residents travel by Metro in Shanghai.
Greener
As another highlight, the city is trying its best to promote green travel in many aspects.
It will keep promoting electric vehicles.
"By 2025, the annual output of new-energy vehicles in Shanghai is expected to exceed 1.2 million," said Tang Wenkan, deputy head of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information.
He added that the output value of NEVs will exceed 350 billion yuan (US$48.7 billion), accounting for more than 35 percent of the total output value of the city's automobile manufacturing industry, by the end of 2025.
Pure electric vehicles will account for more than 50 percent of newly purchased vehicles by individuals and 80 percent of buses and taxis by 2025.
The city will promote hydrogen fuel cells and by 2025, about 10,000 buses and sanitation vehicles will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Shanghai will improve the supporting infrastructure and improve the scale, operation quality and service of charging facilities, with 760,000 electric charging piles and 300 power stations as well as some 70 hydrogen refueling stations to be built by 2025, according to Tang.
People enjoy cycling along the riverside of Shanghai's Huangpu River.
Slower
The city's slow traffic system, or non-motorized traffic network, is being optimized, to fulfill residents' cycling needs as greener travel methods become a rage in urban areas.
There will be more cycling lanes along the city's greenways and in parks.
Noticeably, the white paper elevates slow traffic in urban areas to a priority status, focusing on more accessible, coherent and people-oriented city transport networks.
As part of future plans, the white paper explains how the city aims to become an international metropolis with a leading, advanced and comprehensive transport hub, both domestically and internationally.
It means, apart from building a more comfortable in-city traffic system, Shanghai will also focus on becoming a traffic hub in China by sparing no effort in creating railway grids in the Yangtze River Delta region and other cities in the country.
Passengers are expected to reach the cities near Shanghai in one hour by train, and arrive in most cities in the Yangtze River Delta region within two hours.
