THE hottest topic relating to the city's infrastructure problems this year was traffic.

Shanghai's traffic faces a "very serious" situation, according to Xiong Jianping, director of the Shanghai Municipal Construction and Management Administration, at a government press conference in November.

The 2004 study by the Shanghai City Comprehensive Transportation Planning Institute revealed the average speed on roads of different grades in the city during the day was 23.3 kilometres per hour. On the 21 main streets studied in downtown Puxi, about 74 per cent have an average speed of less than 20 kilometres per hour at peak times (see the story "Jammed urban vitality" in the November 18 issue).

The slowest speed in some sections was just 9 kilometres per hour, which means bicycles are getting places faster.

Xiong attributed the current traffic situation to increasing numbers of vehicle, street-side construction sites, not enough public transport and poor traffic control.

The statistics in 2003 showed Shanghai had 1.748 million vehicles, but the actual figure was far higher. Many drivers in Shanghai choose to buy their licences in nearby cities such as Suzhou in Jiangsu Province where the cost is lower. If the current trend continues, Shanghai will see 2 million vehicles by 2010.

In the past 10 years, the total length of road in the city more than doubled while road area increased by 142 per cent. But the number of vehicles is up by 470 per cent.

To relieve the resulting congestion, Xiong said, the government was taking 18 measures such as setting up one-way streets, adjusting bus routes, punishing traffic law violators more rigorously and stopping some street-side constructive projects.

Experts also are working on some new ideas. A Congestion charge has been mentioned.

A 2002 study suggested that congestion charges should be launched in the Jing'an and Huangpu districts as well as Lujiazui, according to Sun Lijun, professor of the School of Traffic and Transportation, Tongji University. The expert suggests the charge should be around 5 to 10 yuan (US$0.60 to US$1.21) at peak time.

"But whether the effect in the congestion charge will be effective is unknown," said Yang Lifeng, engineer with the institute. "In China, most vehicles are owned by the government or enterprises - which shoulder the expense. So drivers may not care much about the charge. If non-private vehicle reform isn't launched, the effects of a congestion charge will be hard to judge," he added.

Car pooling and flexible working hours are other ideas put forward by experts.

Both government officials and experts agree the bettering of public transport is a key to solving the congestion problem.

The city will set up bus lanes called Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). This is a way of dealing with the expected 17 million passengers a day in the city by 2010. The goal of the BRT system is to build 450 kilometres of lanes by the end of 2010.

The current 82 kilometres of railway in the city carried over 400 million passengers last year and were the main form of transportation in the city. In 2010, the network will expand to 400 kilometres.

Another issue in the headlines is the price of a taxi ride in the city which could go up soon under new regulations being discussed by municipal governments.

Prently, taxis cost 10 yuan (US$1.20) for 3 kilometres, but under the new regulation the same 10 yuan could cover only 2.5 kilometres. Meanwhile, a fee will be charged to book a taxi online or by telephones.

Further hearings have been held by the city's transportation bureau, which invited participation by representatives from governments, taxi companies, drivers and experts.