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Relieve subway's growing pains

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-18 08:25

Improved bus services could remedy passenger crush and the worsening behavior

Ihave long been accustomed to rude behavior on the Beijing subway, especially when using Line 1. However, things hit a new low during the recent Labor Day weekend on a trip back from the International Sculpture Park.

As usual, the train became jam-packed at Xidan, and since it was May 1 a crowd was waiting to board at Tian'anmen West. Even though we were already crammed like sardines, a group of a dozen people forced their way into the carriage. These people had a leader, a burley fellow in his 20s, who as the train pulled into Tian'anmen East shouted: "Nobody gets off." His friends then locked arms to ensure none of them got pushed off the train. Although passengers attempted to get off at Tian'anmen East, Wangfujing and Dongdan, none were successful.

I'm not alone in lamenting the declining levels of civility on Beijing's subway. In February, 25-year-old artist Cheng Meng posted a series of cartoons on the social networking website Renren, giving each line its own cartoon face, voice and description. Line 10, which I use to travel to work, read: "Hi. I'm the one who disfigures white collar workers' faces during morning and evening rush hours." The cartoons quickly attracted huge attention.

Last year, passengers made 1.59 billion journeys on the Beijing subway, which now ranks fourth in the world in terms of use, behind Seoul, Moscow and Tokyo. On its busiest days, some 5.7 million passengers ride the capital's underground system, roughly the entire population of Denmark.

Beijing subway is suffering acute growing pains, and it's not just because lots of people are riding the new lines - more passengers use the older lines to connect to newer ones. Line 1 was not as crowded prior to the opening of Line 4, so I shudder to think what it will be like when Line 9 opens. Moreover, the capital's road congestion has made the subway a faster and more predictable alternative than going by bus. Although buses are much cheaper, most lack air conditioning and are often stuck in traffic. There is nothing as miserable as being in a crowded bus during a gridlock on a hot and muggy summer's day.

Hardly any fixes to subway overcrowding exist. Running more trains is not an option, as they already run every one or two minutes during peak hours, nor is it practical to build a new Line 1. However, more buses could easily be added to existing routes, so as to reduce overcrowding and enable more passengers to sit, rather than stand jammed against each other. Luring passengers away from the subway and on to buses, however, requires a guarantee that people can get to their destinations quickly. Fortunately, a solution exists for this problem, namely creating bus-only lanes on major routes. This could be coupled with congestion charges for vehicles on inner-city roads.

In the longer-term, steps must be taken to address the growing mismatch in Beijing between where people live and work. A 2010 urbanization report by the Chinese Academy of the Social Sciences studied commutes in 50 major cities. Beijing came in first, with residents spending on average one hour getting from home to work.

The expansion of the Beijing subway beyond its inner-city core has enabled residents to live on the outskirts, where housing is more affordable, and hold down jobs within the Third Ring Road. The tradeoff is the punishing commute. Therefore, comprehensive urban planning aimed at enabling people to live closer to work, along with improved bus services, are urgent priorities for Beijing.

Unless this happens, more trips on the subway will resemble my May 1 ride on Line 1.

The author is a corporate trainer at a State-owned enterprise. To comment, e-mail metrobeijing@chinadaily.com.cn. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of METRO.

(China Daily 05/18/2011 page)