July 15, 2005
Shanghai to raise subway fares
What is Shanghai's answer to an overcrowded subway system? Make the poor people walk!
Quoting unnamed Shanghai officials, ChannelNewsAsia reports that the city will either double fares to as much as 6 yuan per ride or will start charging more for longer rides.
"I think the price for the subway, I think that's very reasonable and it is very clean and very nice." the story quotes someone as saying. "It is much, much better than New York and Chicago."
Some statistics the story throws at us:
- 1.3 million people ride Shanghai's subways every day. By 2010, that figure is expected to be 6 million.
- Metro Line 1 is usually overcrowded by 40 percent.
- There are currently 10 trains that operate on Line 1, the city's busiest. Sixteen more trains are on order, but won't arrive for three years.
- Shanghai currently has three subway lines, accounting for 82 kilometers of tracks. In five years, the city is expected to have 11 lines covering 400 kilometers.
One thing they didn't mention: In six years, the city of Shanghai will sink into the earth.
Photo from UrbanRail.net.
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I'm going to laugh my face off if they revert to the old prices, or lower prices even a little, a few months after raising them.
And the poor people will take the bus. I can't wait to see the 136 at rush hour after the metro prices rise. It's going to be even more of a sardine-can.