Half of Shanghai's residents will choose public transport such as subways and buses by 2015, increasing from 35 percent this year, the city's traffic authorities said November 7.

By that time, the subway will account for half of public transport, up from about 30 percent this year.

The Shanghai Transport and Port Authority yesterday released its plan urging people to use public transport.

The city's subway network will stretch 650 kilometers and include 380 stations by 2015.

Subway services will also be improved as 99 percent of trains will arrive on schedule while the maximum interval between trains will be reduced to 6 minutes.

The city's existing subway network now stretches 420 kilometers.

More than 90 percent of Expo visitors chose mass transit such as subways and buses to get to the site of the record-breaking event, meeting the goal set by the organizer.

Traffic officials said the Expo provided "a great opportunity to raise public awareness about greener forms of transportation."

To promote the subway, Shanghai Shentong Metro Group, the Metro operator, said it will continue to issue one-day tickets next year.