Subways in China's largest city are so jam-packed that officials have proposed boosting fares to help reduce crowding, setting off an outcry among residents who rely on the train lines to get to work.
Similar to Tokyo, subway employees now have to shove passengers in to get the doors closed. The most crowded line carries about 42 percent more passengers than it is designed to handle, and overall the system of two underground and one light-rail routes is running at 25 percent above capacity, the state-run Shanghai Daily reported yesterday.
The city is holding public hearings on a plan that would raise fares to as much as 6 yuan (US$0.73) from the current 4 yuan. But consumer groups and residents are opposed, arguing that higher commuting costs would hurt middle-income families living in distant suburban areas.
Shanghai, a city of more than 20 million, now has only 82km of subway lines. By 2010, the number of lines is expected to rise from three to 11, and the total length of subway routes to 400km.
But in the meantime, commuting options for the millions of city dwellers who have been forced by urban renewal projects to move to distant suburbs are limited.
Buses, which cost as little as 1 yuan (US$0.12) are also crammed full -- and often stuck in massive traffic jams.
About one in four residents bicycle to work, but cycling from newly built suburbs 15km or more outside town is not a practical option.
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