Shanghai plans to build 23 public transport transfer hubs in Pudong by 2010, city officials said yesterday.

The hubs - three of which have been built - aim to make it easier for commuters to transfer from the subway to buses and taxis.

"The new transfer hubs will save a lot of time for local commuters," Shanghai Transport Planning Institute's senior engineer Cai Yifeng said yesterday.

City planners of Pudong New Areas said they had put into use the Jinqiao Road Hub and Gangcheng Road Hub. The construction of the Jufeng Road Hub has been completed and will be in use by the end of the month.

The three hubs are connected to stations on Metro Line 6, a south-north artery subway line in Pudong. Another four hubs ?? at Wuzhou Avenue, Century Avenue, Shangnan Road and Jiyang Road - are also being constructed.

The Gangcheng Road Hub - at 23,000 square meters - is the biggest of the seven.

It is close to the Gangcheng Station of Metro Line 6 and also incorporates a long-distance bus station, a parking lot for vehicles and cyclists and a shopping mall.

It is home to 11 bus stations and special ground passages towards the Metro station.

The newly built Jufeng Road Hub is likely to accommodate several bus terminal stations including No.455, 797 and 170, according to Dai Xing, a transport official of Pudong New Area.

(Shanghai Daily June 5, 2008)