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Hail-and-ride bus service proves a winner in Taopu
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You can travel from one end of Shanghai to the other by Metro, but it’s often that last, short stretch to the doorstep that proves the most frustrating because there is no public transport.
Among the initiatives Shanghai is adopting to address the problem is a hail-and-ride bus service that allows passengers to decide where their bus stops. The first such line, Bus No. 1230, went into operation in mid-September in the Putuo District community of Taopu, and it’s already being hailed a success.
So-called “demand responsive transit” has been adopted in many cities in the United Kingdom and Australia, while in Hong Kong, hail-and-ride is the backbone of the city’s extensive minibus services, replacing designated stops.
At a press conference three years ago, Sun Jianping, director of the Shanghai Municipal Transport Commission, said: “The ‘last kilometer disconnect’ became a problem due to urban expansion. People sometimes need to cover long walking distances from their homes to supermarkets, hospitals and schools.”
He pledged the city would adopt initiatives to fill gaps in the transportation system as part of municipal efforts to coax motorists off gridlocked streets and into public transit, a key plank in the campaign to create a cleaner, greener Shanghai.
Service gulfs
As the city has sprawled faster than the transport system, service gulfs were left between doorsteps and public amenities for large communities in outlying areas. Filling that void are unlicensed electric-tricycle operators. That was the problem in Taopu, a housing area of 200,000 residents, where many people displaced by urban renewal have been relocated.
With no convenient public transport and residents forced to face long walks, unlicensed cycle drivers proliferated.
“I use a tricycle to send my daughter to school every day,” resident Miao Qin told Shanghai Daily.
“The 10-minute trip costs only 4 yuan (63 US cents), and it’s convenient because there are so many tricycle drivers waiting near our complex.”
Xu Jiuhao, an elderly resident, said he always used tricycles before the start of Bus Line No. 1230.
“I knew they were dangerous,” Xu said of the tricycles, “but we had no other alternative.”
He said the official crackdowns on unlicensed tricycles never worked.
“How could they, when there was a demand not being met?” he said.
The new bus line is expected to put many tricycle operators out of business.
“We’re attracting more passengers by the day,” said Bu Lingtong, president of Zhixun Public Transportation, which runs the line.
“The number hit nearly 7,000 in the first nine days of operation.”
Still, the hordes of tricycle operators outside Metro stations show there is more work to be done.
The Putuo District’s transit authority told Shanghai Daily there is mounting demand from neighborhood committees to expand the hail-and-ride bus service.
The authority is contemplating adding six buses to the existing four-vehicle fleet next year.
Bu said existing capacity of the new service is filling up sooner than expected as word spreads of its convenience.
“I really like the new service,” Xu said.
“It covers most places I want to go, like the vegetable market and the Metro station. Drivers always stop when you hail them.”
A bus driver surnamed Sun said the new route is especially popular with elderly passengers.
“Older people usually have difficulty walking, and even a short distance can be tiring,” Sun said.
“As long as it’s safe, we will stop wherever people want to get on or get off.”
Young passengers are more skeptical.
“I’m not sure yet that the service is reliable,” said Chen Jiayin.
“I don’t want to stand for 10 minutes and then no bus comes. Every minute in the morning is precious. I would rather walk the 15 minutes to the Metro station than be late for work.”
Shanghai officials estimate that by 2017, about half of the city’s downtown residents will be using public transit to get around. The transportation system is expected to carry about 20 million passengers a day by that time, with 55 percent riding on the Metro.
To improve the efficiency of the transit system, authorities launched 16 new bus routes in the first eight months, and a further 15 are expected to go into operation by the end of the year.
The government is also promoting public bicycle rentals programs, like the one in the Minhang District.
The program allows people to rent a bicycle to take them from home to the nearest Metro station, shopping mall or other public amenity and then drop the bike there for the next rider to use.
The district now has about 44,000 residents registered in the rental program. The local transit authority said in July it plans to upgrade and expand its rental fleet to 20,000 bicycles.
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