Transport in Beijing

Beijing, as the capital and a municipality of the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a transport hub, with a sophisticated network of roads, railways and a major airport. Five completed ring roads encircle a city with nine expressways heading in virtually all compass directions, supplemented by eleven China National Highways.

Transport in the capital is overseen by the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.

The city is served by five completed ring roads. From the centre of the city outward, they are:

Nine toll expressways link Beijing to its suburbs, outlying regions, and other cities; these are:

Eleven China National Highway routes depart from Beijing in virtually all compass directions:

Beijing as of 2011 has an estimated 5 million registered cars on its roads, so traffic congestion is widespread. Traffic in the city centre is often gridlocked and is only predicted to get worse as the number of vehicles on Beijing's roads increase. It is predicted by 2016 Beijing will have over 6 million cars on its roads. To combat congestion the local government has rapidly been building the subway system adding more lines and working towards doubling the length of the subway system by 2015. In addition to this they have decreased the cost of fares in an attempt to encourage more people to use public transport. In 2008 Beijing introduced restrictions on the amount of cars on its roads in attempt to reduce congestion and pollution during the Olympic games period. They did this by adopting odd-even traffic restriction on alternative days. Cars with number plates ending with odd numbers were restricted one day and the next day cars with number plates ending with even numbers were restricted. Drivers who were unable to use their cars did not have to pay road or vehicle taxes, costing the city around 1.3 billion yuan.

Beijing has an extensive public transportation network of buses, trolleybuses, suburban rail and a rapidly expanding subway system. In 2011 42% of commuters used public transit in Beijing.

The Beijing Subway now has 19 lines, 700 km (430 mi) of tracks and 319 stations in operation. Subway travel is generally fast, clean, economical and during peak periods congested. On average currently around five million people ride the subway daily. By 2015 the city predicts daily ridership will increase to over 8 million journeys a day. A ¥3 minimum fare that rises according to the distance travelled applies to all lines, except the express link to the airport, which costs ¥25. The electronic commuter fare card, Yikatong is accepted on all lines. The subway network is undergoing rapid expansion, and by 2015, the city will have 19 subway lines and over 700 km (430 mi) in track length. This would make Beijing's subway system one of the largest in the world.

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Wikipedia