Buses in Shanghai

Shanghai has more than 1000 formal bus lines (including downtown and suburban lines), served by more than 10 bus companies. In the past, Bashi, Dazhong, Guanzhong and Qiangsheng were the four largest; around 2009 they merged to become Bashi Group Companies, including Bus No.1-5 Companies, Chongming Company, and Jinshan Company.

Liverys of different bus companies differ. The most ordinary livery is often called "SH Livery", which was established in 2001. Bashi Group buses, Jinshan Bus Co. of Jinshan District, Minhang Bus Co. of Minhang District and other private bus companies use such kind of livery, while different in colors. Pudong Bus of Pudong District has its special livery established in 2009, which is blue and is often called "Haibao Livery". Songjiang Bus of Songjiang District has a livery of a combination of red and grey, which was established in 2007. Fengxian Bus of Fengxian District has a livery of green and white and another livery based on "SH Livery" but with the color of green and blue, which were established after Fengxian Bashi and Fengxian Bus (local owned).Qingpu Bus of Qingpu District started using new livery since the end of 2015, which contains the same color with Bashi "SH Livery" but has different patterns. Zongshen Dazhong of Qingpu District has a special livery of a combination of yellow and green on some of its bus routes.

The Shanghai bus fleet has become increasing green in recent years. As of May 2015, the system has over 1,700 new energy buses, amounting to over 20% of the entire fleet.

Since 2006, Shanghai has been the leading Chinese system to implement electric and hybrid buses. During the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the city piloted a program that includes 256 new energy buses with low to no emission. Some routes are operated by the Shanghai trolleybus system, and although the number of such routes is relatively very small compared to the overall Shanghai transit network, the trolleybus system carries the distinction of being the oldest existing such system in the world (of more than 300 such systems still in operation in 2011); it opened on 15 November 1914.

During the mid-2000s, the city converted many traditional trolley routes to a standard diesel fleet because of route flexibility, speed, and eliminating the visual pollution of overhead wires. However, the obvious benefits of the trolley buses have brought back a renewed interest in keeping and developing the program. In 2013, Bashi Trolley Bus Company ordered 300 new trolleybuses to replace the aging fleet and grow the overall number of trolleys in Shanghai.

Most downtown buses use numbers to specify the lines, while suburban buses and a few downtown bus lines use Chinese characters. In the recent decade, there has been increased activity in network optimization and as a result, many bus lines have been cut, shorted, and combined. Many named bus lines have been converted to number lines with a flat fare. Some regular lines have been changed to rush-hour only, while still keeping their original line numbers.

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