A minibus makes a stop at the UpperHills shopping mall in Futian District. Photos by Liao Wanyu
Minibuses bearing the words "Please wave to board" in Yantian District. The vehicles offer flexible service, with the ability to stop upon request and signal a stop with a bell. The 5.5-meter-long minibus, managed by the Shenzhen Bus Group, has a capacity of 11 passengers.
Public transportation is becoming increasingly favored as an environmentally friendly travel choice by Shenzhen residents. The city's public transport network handles a daily average of 13.81 million passenger trips, capturing 57.9% of motorized travel during peak hours, the city's transport bureau said during the Public Commuting Promotion Week that concluded yesterday.
Shenzhen has effectively cultivated an integrated public transportation system, where rail transit forms the backbone, an extensive network of buses covers the city, taxis offer supplementary services, and slow traffic (bicycles, electric scooters, and walking) extends the reach of the system, according to the bureau.
The city's rail transit system currently includes 16 Metro lines and one tram line, with a total operational mileage of 567.1 kilometers, 306 Metro stations, and 20 tram stations.
Shenzhen Metro ranks fourth in China in terms of passenger volume and first in terms of network density and passenger flow intensity. Five new lines will open this year.
The city's bus network handles 2.25 million passenger trips per day.
There are 15,680 buses running on a total of 901 routes, with 11,102 stops. Bus stops are conveniently located within a 500-meter radius of all residential areas, achieving a 100% coverage rate. The city also boasts 1,075 kilometers of dedicated bus lanes.
As of now, 835 bus routes have been connected to the rail transit system and 10,380 bus stops are within 100 meters of a rail transit station, representing 93.5% of the total number of bus stops, according to the bureau.
In addition to the high-capacity rail transit system, electric taxis have also garnered significant attention. According to statistics, there are currently 63 taxi companies in the city operating approximately 21,000 vehicles, all of which are pure electric vehicles.
Taxis provide an average of 500,800 rides per day, serving approximately 751,300 passengers. The city also has 28 registered online car-hailing platforms that handle 1.4 million trips per day.
Shared bicycles, which cater to short-distance travel, are also playing an active role in building a green urban transportation system in the city.
To date, 360,000 shared bicycles are in service in Shenzhen, with a total of 31.538 million registered users. On average, there are 1.312 million rides per day.