Extra bus routes have been set up and hundreds of taxis are on
standby around major transport hubs as returning holiday crowds
flood back into the city.
The Shanghai coach authority said the number of incoming
passengers increased sharply yesterday, indicating the start of the
rush as the Spring Festival holiday break comes to an end.
Zhang Yongbin, a director of the Shanghai Long Distance Bus
General Station, said up to 150 extra buses had arrived in town by
yesterday afternoon.
"The extra shuttles were added temporarily by counterpart coach
authorities outside of Shanghai, in the face of increased demand,"
he said.
"We found many of the arriving travelers today are still here to
visit friends or do shopping. It's likely they want to make use of
the last day of the holiday. Those who spent the holiday in places
very close to Shanghai also started to return today.''
Zhang said nearly 1,100 long-distance bus lines were operating
normally yesterday, while dozens of others were still out of
service including trips between Shanghai and Sichuan and Liaoning
provinces and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
The authority believes incoming daily traffic will increase
markedly - by between 300 and 500 shuttles - in the lead up to the
peak around the Lantern Festival on February 21.
Railway officials estimate that around February 22 more than
800,000 people will travel by trains daily in Shanghai and
neighboring provinces.
To ease pressure at airports, railway stations and passenger
docks, nine temporary bus-transit lines have been opened by urban
transport authorities.
The temporary lines, which were opened early yesterday morning,
will operate from midnight until 6am every day.
The transport authority has also ordered 600 cabs from the
Jinjiang taxi fleet to be available every day at Hongqiao
Airport.
City traffic police said yesterday that during the holiday week
starting on February 6, 39 road accidents involving deaths or
serious injuries occurred, a drop of 15.2 percent from the same
period a year earlier. The accidents left four people dead and 47
others hurt.
(Shanghai Daily February 13, 2008)