Officials prepare for busy holiday travel

The flow of passengers during this year’s Spring Festival in Shanghai is expected to be busier than last year but slower than in 2019, city officials said on Friday.

An estimated 35 million travelers will leave or enter the city during this year's chunyun from January 28 to March 8, the Spring Festival travel rush.

This will be 52 percent higher than that of last year and 20 percent lower than that in 2019. The fall in passenger numbers in 2020 was mostly due to COVID-19.

Daily passenger flow within the city is expected to reach 13 million.

The daily number of vehicles on expressways will hit 450,000, while the figure for elevated roads will reach 1.7 million.

The city’s office for COVID-19 prevention and control issued tightened measures for passenger control earlier this week, which are expected to result in lower mobility during the festival.

“For travelers who have to go back to their hometowns, we will take different inspection measures when they return, depending on their departure locations,” said Xu Wei, director of the passenger transport department at the city’s road transportation office.

Xu said people traveling from medium-risk areas will have to register in local communities, undergo a two-week health observation and take a nucleic acid test twice. Those from high-risk areas will be quarantined for 14 days at designated locations.

Most people are expected to travel by rail or private car. Travel is projected to peak around February 9 before the festival and February 17 through 27 after it.

To ensure safety during chunyun, the transport network, including railways, airlines, expressways and water channels, will step up health inspections.

Disinfection, ventilation, health code checks and personnel control will be emphasized. Travelers are encouraged to purchase tickets online to avoid physical contact.

"With chunyun about two weeks away, we have already started to prepare for health inspections at key stations across the city," said Xu. "We'll cooperate with the health department to closely manage all forms of transportation."