Shanghai will work on a new traffic system for the 2010 World Expo Garden, that will include five metro lines, 25 bus routes and 40 shuttle services, according to Wang Xiubao, deputy director of the Shanghai Transportation Bureau, the Oriental Morning Post reported Wednesday.

The city expects that 94 percent of 2010 Expo visitors will take public transportation, among which the metro system alone will handle 50 percent, Wang said.

Five new metro lines providing direct access to the World Expo Garden will be in service by 2010 and will carry 100,000 passengers per hour during peak hours. It is estimated that the Expo will see 80 million visitors.

The city will also introduce 40 shuttle services which will handle 14 percent of the passenger load. Fast, reliable and comfortable, these services will link the Expo Garden with hotels, traffic hubs, university campuses and residential areas.

Some of the bus services will offer non-stop routes, which will allow passengers to pay for the Expo's entrance fare together with the bus fare when departing, to relieve the burden at the doors of the Expo, Wang said.

Visitors will also be able to travel via 25 new conventional bus routes ending at the Expo Garden, which are expected to handle 12 percent of the passenger load. The city will continue these services after the Expo, but their terminal stations may be shifted to better fit passenger needs.

The city will also attempt to attract more visitors from the Yangtze Delta area by providing special inter-city coach services, Wang said.

(Shanghai Daily March 30, 2006)