Subway is the way to go despite all the criticism
By Steve Hubrecht (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-10 09:51
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Beijingers seem to enjoy grumbling about the capital's transportation system. They moan about hours spent sitting in traffic jams in taxis, moving less than a kilometer an hour.
It's certainly true that Beijing's traffic is busy, and commuting - in a taxi, in your own car, or by bus - is a trial of your patience.
But Beijing's subway system is a great antidote.
Some people are quick to dismiss it, saying it is overcrowded and inefficient.
But look closer, or hop on the subway network outside of rush hours and you may be surprised at just how good it is.
Yes, during rush hours, subway commuters are packed in as tight as sardines in a tin can - but pretty much every transport option is just as busy at that time.
And once you're on the subway, you zoom to your destination at speeds that those stuck on the gridlocked roads above can only wish for.
Outside of those peak hours, the subway is an unfettered joy to use. If you ride the network any time in the early morning, during the middle of the day or later in the evening, you can almost always get a seat. All of the newer subway lines are sparkling clean, ultra-modern and extremely convenient.
Don't speak Chinese? Not a problem, all subway maps are printed in both Chinese and English and the public announcement system uses both languages too.
Beijing's newer subway lines all have glass platform barriers, or screen doors, the lack of which has become a major civic issue in several North American cities.
Subway trains arrive roughly every five minutes at most, so even if, during the rush hour cram, you must wait for two or three trains to go by before you can get on, you are still only waiting about 15 minutes - which is a lot less time than it can take to catch a taxi in Beijing's rush hour.
Once on board the train, you zip from station to station at a fast clip. A trip from the Olympic Green area to Beijing's Central Business District takes just a bit more than half an hour during rush hour and can be as fast as 25 minutes at other times. Trying to navigate the same route by car during rush hour can take as much as an hour.
True, some transfers involve long walks, but this is a small price to pay for the overall efficiency and convenience of the subway.
As an added treat, occasionally cheeky buskers will liven up the subway cars, despite being officially prohibited.
They'll walk on, usually with a guitar, slyly posing as music students and once the doors close and the subway train is on its way, they sling on their instruments and begin strumming and singing as they roam the aisle.
It's hard not to enjoy such simple fun.
So it is good news indeed that the authorities are rapidly expanding Beijing's subway network.
Five new lines or big extensions to current lines are reportedly scheduled for operation by the end of the year.
There are already trial operations running on two of them, the Changping Line and a major southward extension of Line 4, and the city reportedly plans to have 561 kilometers of subway track by 2015.
Tentative maps of what the subway system will look like make the network resemble a cross between a checkerboard and an octopus, with almost every conceivable major destination in the city corresponding to a subway stop.
It's an ambitious plan, but a good one. Perhaps, once the entire planned network is up and running, more Beijing commuters will stop grumbling about the chaos on the roads and instead be breezing along on the subway.
