Third Place: Ningbo Distinguishes itself in Intensity of Passenger Trips
数据来源交通运输部
The average commute time and the public transport convenience are two important indicators of citizens' happiness.
一座城市的通勤耗时和公共交通便利程度,是衡量居民幸福感的重要指标。
Recently, the 2021 China Urban Transportation Report (hereinafter referred to as the "Transportation Report") was released by Baidu Maps. The report shows traffic congestion, average commute time, intensity of passenger trips, and development of public transportation in 100 major Chinese cities through big data analysis.
With an average one-way commute time of 31.7 minutes and a peak commuting congestion index of 1.396, Ningbo boasts being the least congested "new first-tier" city across China. This furthermore makes Ningbo rank third out of 100 major Chinese cities in terms of the intensity of downtown passenger trips.
According to the Transportation Report, the average one-way commute time in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Guangzhou exceeds 40 minutes in 2021.
出行报告显示,2021年,北京、上海、天津、重庆、广州的平均通勤时耗仍超40分钟。
In contrast, Ningbo citizens have a more reasonable commute time to work. The city has the lowest peak commuter congestion index among the 20 Chinese cities where car ownership exceeds 3 million in 2021. It ranks 86th among the 100 major Chinese cities and last among the "new first-tier" cities regarding average one-way commute time, which takes only 31.7 minutes.
With superb road conditions, Ningbo citizens are eager to travel within the city.
在良好路况下,宁波市民出行意愿也不遑多让。
In 2021, Suzhou, Wuxi, Ningbo, Changzhou, Shanghai, and Hangzhou – all in the Yangtse River Delta – take the top 6 places regarding the intensity of passenger trips within the city among 100 major Chinese cities. As far as Ningbo is concerned, the intensity of passenger trips has increased by 16.28% compared with the previous year, indicating that the city is recovering from the consequences of COVID-19 since 2020.
The intensity of passenger trips within the city is the indexed result of the ratio of daily intra-city trips to residential population in a city.
市内出行强度,是一座城市每天市内出行人次与居住人口比值的指数化结果。
The results of Ningbo, as well as other cities in the Yangtze River Delta, demonstrate not only the highly integrated development of culture, tourism and commerce, but also the demands of large population migration thanks to a well-developed industrial base.
What is the status quo of Ningbo's public transportation?
宁波公共交通发展水平如何?
By the end of 2021, the density of the public transport network in Ningbo's main urban area ranked third among "first-tier" and "new first-tier" cities, trailing only Foshan and Chengdu; the density of metro lines ranked ninth, after Shanghai, Chongqing, Beijing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
At the end of last year, with the first phase of Ningbo Metro Line 5 put in use, Metro’s operating mileage in the city reached 182.3 kilometers, ranking 17th in the nation. In the first two months of this year, the population entering metro stations reached 11.511 million, a year-on-year increase of 13.7%.
When it comes to commuters utilizing public transportation, Ningbo still has room for improvement. Although the passenger volume for Ningbo Metro increased year-on-year, in the first two months of this year it only ranked 20th in the country, and the number of people entering the station was only one-twelfth of Shanghai, one-third of Hangzhou, and half of Changsha. This shows that the role of Ningbo Metro in boosting passenger trips within the city has been less effective than other cities in the same tier.
As is shown from the data, the speed ratio of public transportation (including ground public transportation and metros) to driving at a commute peak in Ningbo is 62.27%, ranking 13th in the "first-tier" and "new first-tier" cities. However, the speed ratios in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou are all over 70%. In other words, public transportation does not enjoy a distinctive advantage over driving in Ningbo during morning and evening rush hours.
The reasons are twofold. On the one hand, many Ningbo citizens prefer driving because of the smooth traffic flow and over 3 million car owners; on the other hand, the layout of Ningbo metro stations has limited coverage of work and living space.
As per the statistics, Ningbo rail transit covers only 9% of commuters in 800 meters in 2020. Even if the first phase of Metro Line 5 is open to the public, there are still a considerable number of individuals whose homes and offices are located a long distance from the metro station.
In the long run, commuting by public transportation is environmentally friendly. The title of "least congested city" and available commuting options are likely to draw more individuals to live and work in Ningbo as the city's transportation network improves.