Why I still haven’t quite thrown the towel in on driving in China
Nearly a year ago I wrote a brief article on my frustration on driving in the People’s Republic, roads had become to clustered, too many new cars and equally new drivers had taken to the roads and drove like they were riding a bicycle. It was too much to bare when living in Qingdao, a ‘quick‘ 7km drive to my wife’s place of work turned into a 90 minute round trip (14km in total) at peak rush hour times. At the time I was probably driving around 300-500km per week depending on the tasks at hand, not an incredible amount of road going hours but probably on average with that of a Western family. In early June I made the move from Qingdao to Suzhou, I actually work day in day out in Shanghai but quite honestly cannot stand the place for more than 8 hours at a time, Suzhou offered a happy medium between nature and metropolis, and of course its a much better place for a family.
I am now a commuter, the sullen faced sort that brisks through the security theaters of train stations with more ease than the workers that man the stations keeping us safe from whatever we need to be kept safe from. From my house to the office its a 200km round trip, a little excessive when written down but the 250km per hour bullet train takes care of the majority of that with a 30 minute journey that sees me leave the house at 7am and propels me into the office by 8:20am or 8:30 if I grab breakfast on the way. So my car sits in the garage unused – except for at weekends when I need to buy groceries, take the boy out and maybe go hiking or riding my bike, so I need to drive to the nearest mountainous area. Has the cost of car ownership fallen in anyway? Yes and No. Now that I don’t drive as much I obviously use much less gasoline, so the gasoline bill has fallen from 1500-1700rmb per month to around 300rmb, but the cost of the train is roughly 80rmb per day or 1280rmb per month, so all in all I am spending about the same but getting to work without the anger of being cut up or nearly killed by a barely road legal driver that is swaying all over the road. I still have to pay for insurance, maintenance etc so the cost of ownership is there still, but I am getting to the office fresh faced and ready to work, rather than spitting feathers which is worth it in every sense. Although I can understand why subway users in Shanghai are eager to buy cars.
Suzhou City Government really needs to be commended on investing in its road infrastructure ahead of time, the city could be compared to a mini Shanghai although without its critical mass of cars. Taking my son to kindergarten on the other side of the city yesterday morning at 8am took just 25 minutes through rush hour traffic, it’s a 12km journey. The series of elevated expressways mimic Shanghai’s in many ways but of course are not yet filled with cars moving at a snails pace, other cities seem to bumble along building as extra capacity is required, obviously this is not the way to go in many respects.
So will I give up driving completely? Probably not, the car still remains an integral part of my life and to get rid of it completely would make for a difficult life, it does however give my family a choice of cars to drive in the morning. Naturally they chose which ever has fuel in it and leave me to fill up.
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Uh…not exactly the endorsement of driving conditions, or some measurable improvement in them the headline led me to expect. I’m in Qingdao and the refusal of adminstration to “get involved” with “enforcement” arms, such as the traffic division is appalling in its consequences. Volume? Yes. Inexperienced drivers? Yes, but add to that poor or barely trained, or even MIS-trained as in advised to drive to the left because it’s safer. Thus the spectacle of a moderate driver ahead of me, veering, without signal, into the center lane…TO MAKE A CELLPHONE CALL. Simple solutions to some of the worst of the problem? Sure…1. Sequence or stagger traffic signals on every roadway. Driving at or near the speed limit will bring an immediate reward of green light after green light AND less pollution and aggravation and time lost. 2. Eliminate, or as close as we can get, left turns! Right turn boxes may take a few meters more to negotiate but compared to traffic jams created by “Me First” intersection blockages, it’s a tremendous improvement. 3. Separate pedestrians and vehicles and enforce the use of bridges and subways. There are more but a critical 4th suggestion? A magnum increase in public education. What good is controlling all media if they aren’t used to solve such problems? Driver/pedestrian education on TV, Radio and in print. Police visits to schools not to promote good will, but instead to educate on staying alive by teaching safe walking/driving practice. Infrastructure meant, I assume, to “ease” congestion, is deadly. One example: green ARROWS permitting a left turn and through traffic at the same time! An arrow, I hasten to point out, is imperative…equal to a traffic policeman pointing at you and directly you to turn, now! How can we countenance infrastructure that directs us to commit suicide?! I pause to rest your eyes and ears hoping I’ve stimulated a few minds to accept the argument that it’s not so much the volume as it is experience, education, effective infrastructure and proper enforcment that are desperately needed.
When I was in primary school in the UK, we had a bunch of coppers come in on a regular basis partly as a PR stunt but mostly to teach us about road safety and the green cross code. I wonder if there are similar services in China?
Driving in Chengdu isn’t bad at all.
Most intersections have at least a police officer, sometimes several, guiding traffic to be more efficient and more likely abide traffic rules. This is true for most of the daylight hours, but definitely true for morning and evening rush hours
The congestion isn’t bad at all – I work in the exact city center – Tianfu Square – and live close to 1st ring road to the SouthWest. My traffic route currently nets me a very quick travel time to work..usually just 7 or 8 minutes – I’m along a river which has underground passes as it crosses bridges overhead between me and the main road leading north to the square – in other words, I face a total of 2 lights to reach destination, WOOT!
For all of you in megapolis east coast cities with poor infrastructure, I feel your pain – well, I don’t, but it seems like the right thing to say
I am really jealous, I really wish there was a Beijing equivalent of Suzhou!
But seriously, I am glad to hear that Suzhou (as a place to live) is working out so well for you.
Im honestly never there, but when I am there it is a happy medium between metropolis and nature. Mountains and lakes to the west, gigantic city to the east. I drove in Beiijng last september, and I vowed never again. Shanghai’s traffic is nothing in contrast to Beijing.
You’ll be glad to hear then that the traffic has gotten *worse* here, despite the license plate lottery.
How? By designating one lane (out of 3) as a bus lane during rush hour on a major highway (Jingtong) serving the east side of the city. Of course, those taking the bus into town from Tongzhou and nearby Hebei are not complaining…
Can’t imagine driving in BJ or Shanghai since Xiamen has
become a similarly equivalent quagmire. After driving here for nearly ten years, we now take taxis, ride bikes (equally frightening), or use buses.
On the plus side, my wife and I just drove from Xiamen to Guilin (her hometown where we have a house), and it was a
great trip. We’ve done this trip ten times, and roads/highways get better. Plus, scenery west of Guangzhou is lovely and roads are good.
Yesterday we drove Guilin to Xiamen using a new route and the highways were excellent. About 200 kms of local roads,
but the experience was positive. Slow going through villages and construction sites, but it provided great
insight into new highway construction and RR development.
Vehicle was a nearly-new Nissan now Chinese-built MPV which did extremely well. Lots of room, comfortable ride,
good fuel economy, and good A/C in the 34-35 degree temps.
However, we don’t drive at night…too many countryside carts and bicycles without lights.
extremely well.