03.05.10
Beijing Bus Driver Conversation
Nator: [as we pass my normal bus stop] Aren’t you going to stop?
Driver: No.
Nator: Why not?
Driver: I don’t stop there.
Nator: Where is the next stop?
Driver: Ahead.
01.25.10
Beijing picks a bad time to promote cycling
From PhilStar yesterday:
BEIJING (AP) — Authorities in Beijing unveiled a plan Sunday to make the Chinese capital more bicycle-friendly in the hopes of reducing the city’s choking pollution and alleviating congestion. . .
Beijing has 17 million people and four million cars, a figure that continues to grow and strain the city’s already overloaded road system.
Meanwhile, 19.7 percent of Beijing residents ride bicycles, and authorities hoped to raise that to 23 percent by 2015, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The city will restore bicycle lanes that were cut to make room for cars and buses, and build more bicycle parking lots, particularly next to bus and subway stations, the report said, citing Liu Xiaoming, director of the Municipal Communications Commission.
In addition to the moves aimed at encouraging bicycling, the government will also implement new restrictions on car drivers, Xinhua cited Liu as saying, without giving specifics.
This announcement is reminiscent of the government’s “plan” for the Beijing subway system, which started off well enough in the mid-20th century but languished for years in the 1980s and and 1990s, even as it became clear that roads alone wouldn’t be enough. It was not until Beijing was awarded the Olympics in 2001 that things really got going.
Aside from a well-developed subway system, bikes are the most obvious way to improve traffic in Beijing. Anyone who cycles in Beijing knows this: The landscape is flat, the roads are wide, and many bike lanes are protected from cars by curbs and rows of trees.
That’s why it is so frustrating to see cars taking over the city at the expense of bikers, pedestrians, and everyone else. I walk to the subway on the road because the sidewalks are filled with parked cars. I ride with my fingers not on the handlebar but hovering over the brakes, waiting for the drivers who play chicken and appear to move as if all the bikers and pedestrians simply weren’t there. I become the Weird Guy when I ride: When a driver behind me honks impatiently, I let him pass, but if he then gets in my way, I scream at the top of my lung for him to move. (After all, isn’t a car horn really just a substitute for a screaming voice?)
I remain skeptical that things will get better for those of use who ride bikes in Beijing, but I am happy to see this article. Only one complaint — why announce it on January 24, when we’re all freezing our asses off and few people are riding?
UPDATE 20100127: A recent “Spacing Toronto” post has some observations about the roads and traffic in Beijing and Shanghai:
In Shanghai and Beijing, it is the norm is to have sidewalks cordoned off from the roadway with barriers forcing pedestrian traffic towards overpasses. While pedestrian grade separation is most common at intersections, in Beijing it is also quite common mid-block. Beijing has adopted a car-dependent design of very wide avenues with multiple degrees of separation. Down the centre, several lanes of heavy traffic crawl through congestion while a low speed access road, parking and wide sidewalks occupy the storefront side of a barrier fence. Pedestrian flyovers here almost always have one steep staircase and one very gradual. The overpasses also often provide stairway connections to bus stops, a considerable investment in bus infrastructure.
What this setup gains in easy access for motorists it loses in attractiveness of the pedestrian environment as the pedestrian is distantly removed from the other side of the street. It also must cause obvious difficulties for the disabled. In many ways, it really seems that the human scale of the city has been lost, and it is not uncommon to hear Beijingers complain about the loss of the old city.
I too was a lot more concerned with “attractiveness of the pedestrian environment” my first couple of years in China. Having settled in a bit over the years, though, I find myself caring more that things just run reasonably well.
But for the most part it is a city of unapologetically wide avenues and broad, open thoroughfares, built on a grand scale rather than a human scale. At least Beijing has found some kind of solution to keep traffic somewhat moving without allowing highways near the city centre.
It sounds as though the writer has stayed on the ring roads and the newer sections of the city, where tens of tens of thousands of policemen, doormen, and security guards are required to keep the lanes open and the sidewalks clear of cars.
11.18.09
Cloud Seeding in Beijing Creates “Severe Gas Shortage” in Wuhan
Wuhan is rationing natural gas, according to Reuters:
BEIJING, Nov 17 (Reuters) – Central and eastern Chinese provinces faced the worst natural gas shortage in years as supplies were diverted to snowstorm-hit northern China, while producers lacked incentives to expand output because of poor margins, a state broadcaster said on Tuesday.
Gas supplies for taxis in Wuhan, capital of the central province of Hubei, were halted from Monday while 11 industrial companies in Hanzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, were shut as a result of gas shortages, China National Radio said.
The gas shortage in Wuhan reached 600,000 cubic metres per day and pressure in the gas pipeline was at only half the usual level, it said….
Wuhan is one of the ten largest cities in China and a key transportation hub. One would think the city would have a bit more fuel in its reserves.
Things are bad in nearby cities as well:
The supply deficit in Nanjing, capital of eastern Jiangsu province, had reached 400,000 cubic metres per day, 40 percent of its planned consumption volume, according to C1 Energy, an industry information provider.
Emergency measures to curb consumption had also been taken in other cities including Chongqing, Rizhao, Xi’an, Yichang and Yangzhou, but demand was set to rise further because of expected colder weather, C1 Energy said….
Since it’s only mid November, it seems reasonable to expect colder weather in the weeks and months ahead.
The reason for all this chaos, of course, is the recent snows in northern China:
Unseasonably early and heavy snow in northern China had caused 38 deaths as of last Friday and a surge in energy demand.
The power load on the Northern China electricity grid surged to a high of 127.5 gigawatts this month, 26 percent higher than a year earlier. On the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan grid networks, the load increased 24.7 percent from a year earlier late last week.
So far I haven’t seen any acknowledgment of a problem up here in Beijing. My apartment has had heat for a couple of weeks now and is warm day and night. At the office it’s downright hot, and we have to keep the windows cracked just to get some relief. The heat is oppressive even when we turn the adjustable-flow radiators — the first I have seen in China — to the lowest setting.
So let’s sum up:
- The government either induces or tries to take credit for snowstorms in northern China in order to counter an ongoing drought.
- In part because the government neglected to sufficient warn citizens of its intent, daily life is disrupted, transportation grinds to a halt, and dozens of people die.
- Tens or possibly hundreds of millions are affected by fuel restrictions in central China, while Beijingers lounge around in their toasty apartments and offices.
- Indoor heating is still not required in buildings in those same cities, which can get every bit as cold as Beijing.
- We’re about two weeks into a 4-5 month period of weather this bad and, at times, much worse.
10.10.09
Taxi rate increase in Shanghai
As reported in Shanghai Daily, taxi rates are going up this month. Flagfall will be 12 yuan/3km, and each additional km will be 2.40. The additional km charge is a big jump up from 2.10 (prior to May 2006, it was 2.00 yuan/km).
Doubt this will change demand much for taxis in the city.
12.28.08
Wuhan Yangtze Tunnel Finally Open
They promised end of 2008 and sure enough, with a few days to spare, the Wuhan Yangtze Tunnel is finally open. Started in 2004, this massive project is, in fact, the first tunnel under the Yangtze River and cost RMB1.7-2.0 billion (about USD250-300 million) depending on your sources. Though this tunnel is the first, it won’t be the last as other sous-Yangtze tunnels are in process in both Shanghai and Nanjing.
I remain skeptical that this four-lane marvel (pictures make it look like two) will truly relieve the traffic burden in Wuhan. One article claims travel time is reduced from 30 to 7 minutes. It’s a neat engineering feat, but I’m not convinved that Wuhan couldn’t use the cash for other more pressing projects. Like the horseracing track.
08.11.08
Black Cabs in Beijing?
Just took this photo with my cell phone on the way to lunch.
A London black cab with Beijing colors colours…
NATOR ADDS: China Car Times had some info on this back in May.
ODB ADDS: I know Israel was also testing these cabs out a few years ago, as they are supposed to be more secure with the driver being in a separate compartment from the passengers.
08.09.08
Beijing Subway Blog
Just added this informative blog on Beijing’s subway system, Beijing A to B, to our blogroll. Enjoy!
There is a sister site devoted to Beijing’s roads. That one seems much less interesting. What can they say besides “They’re all jammed”? I’d recommend Beijing’s traffic station instead.
Both sites are related to the folks at Beijingology.
07.28.08
Eyes and Eyelids seeing red over Beijing’s traffic
Here’s a funny email circulating around China this week. To appreciate it, you have to understand the obsession among some Chinese about double vs. single hooded eyelids, and that the traffic situation leading up to the Olympics in Beijing has frustrated and infuriated some drivers.
(SHTig translation)
Urgent Notice from the Beijing Traffic Administration Bureau
Although the implementation of even/odd license plates entering the city has greatly reduced congestion, the number of pedestrian traffic has increased substantially, adding to pressure on pubic transportation. Therefore, the Traffic Bureau is implementing measures as of July 25 for the area within the 6th ring road for single and double hooded eyelids. Single hooded eyelid people may enter the area on odd days. Double hooded eyelid people may enter the area on even days. Those with one singled hooded and one double hooded eyelid may enter only between the hours of midnight and 3am. We ask that all city residents arrange their schedules accordingly.北京市交通管理局紧急通知……
7月20日实行单双号限行后流量大幅下降，但出行人流量降反升，公共交通压力加大。
为此，交管局决定，从7月25日起，
全市六环以内，市民实行单双眼皮限行措施，
单眼皮单日出行，
双眼皮双日出行，
一单一双只能夜晚0~3点出行。
望广大市民合理安排出行时间。