Beijing is set to have four new subway lines built in 2015. The city plans to start construction this year because city authorities are resorting to the metro system to alleviate traffic problems.
Announcement for the development of four subway lines in Beijing was made by mayor Wang Anshun. The plan was detailed in the government work report he provided during the annual meeting of the municipal legislature on Jan. 23, Friday.
Some details of the plans have also been released. Officials with the Beijing Infrastructure Investment Co. Ltd. said that the public-private-partnership (PPP) funding model might be utilized for the purpose. Using this model would reduce government debts in completing these construction projects.
Wang said that sections of two already existing metro lines will be opened for commuters this year.
Just recently, subway fares have been hiked. Before the price hike, passengers were paying 2 yuan minimum. However, they are now paying a minimum of 3 yuan for up to six kilometers and the price increases according to distance of travel.
Road traffic is a problem expected to become worse across Chinese cities. Apart from Beijing, Shanghai also has new measures to curtail or prepare for anticipated increase in road traffic in 2015.
In particular, the city is set to launch a congestion information center to monitor traffic. This will be used to inform the public when traffic for a certain area or day is going to be worse than normal so that they can look for alternative routes or change their travel plans.