Songjiang says so long to too-long buses
Print Edition
THE end of the road would appear to be in sight for the city’s 18-meter-long diesel buses.
Ten such vehicles, operated by Shanghai Songjiang Public Transportation Co, were retired last month and the future for the 10 remaining looks grim.
“There was simply no longer a need to have such big buses,” said Song Yushun, the company’s vice manager.
“They mostly served the university town, so they’d be full on Fridays and Sundays, but half-empty the rest of the time.”
The company will continue to provide bus services in the area, but using shorter vehicles, Song said.
“The capacity per bus will fall from 163 to 88,” he said.
The only other super-long buses are operated by Pudong Yanggao Bus Co, but they too appear to be on their way out.
“With the growth of the Metro network, bus passenger numbers have fallen sharply,” said Dai Genbao, the company’s deputy engineer.
He didn’t say when the buses would be phased out, but said the company is considering introducing shorter, new-energy options, in line with the government’s push to cut emissions.
While the extended vehicles might have had their day in Songjiang, cleaner and greener 18-meter-long electric buses are likely to go into operation on Yan’an Road next year.
New-energy buses and trams are key to the “medium-capacity traffic project,” a 14-kilometer stretch of the trunk road that will connect Huangpu, Jing’an and Changning districts.
Development of the scheme is scheduled to begin in July and trail operations are set to follow next year, the transport commission said earlier.
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