Pedestrian crossings with filter lanes in Beijing

[xianhua]

So I'm currently on business in Beijing. I've noticed that at the majority of pedestrian crossings here, the end lane traffic appears to carry on driving across the crossing whereas the rest of the lanes stop. Is this actually an acceptable rule here? This makes the idea of a pedestrian crossing slightly redundant as you may well encounter traffic whilst trying to cross. This may be the case in other cities too of course. I've looked for a green arrow at the end to indicate a filter lane but haven't noticed one as yet.

[anonymoose]

Traffic never stops at a pedestrian crossing here in Shanghai unless there's a traffic light, and even then, going through red lights is fairly common (especially for vehicles with military plates). Also, it seems that traffic by default goes through red lights if turning a corner. Is that what you're refering to? I'm not sure what the traffic regulations say about this, but I agree that it makes pedestrian crossings rather redundant.

[xianhua]

Also, it seems that traffic by default goes through red lights if turning a corner. Is that what you're refering to?

Exactly. All the central lanes observe the pedestrian crossing whereas the outside lanes appear to have some form of 'de facto' exemption (or maybe it is 'de jure' - anyone read the Chinese highway code?)

My other groan concerning Beijing transport is that the underground booking machines display the subway lines in pink instead of their designated colour - and I haven't found one which will accept a note yet.

[Yang Rui]

My understanding is that traffic is usually allowed to turn right even if the light is red. I think this is the same in quite a few countries, but in other countries I think the rule is probably more like "you can turn right but give way to any pedestrians on the crossing".

Essentially, you just have to treat pedestrian crossings as a rough indication of when there might be less traffic.

[Lu]

My other groan concerning Beijing transport is that the underground booking machines display the subway lines in pink instead of their designated colour - and I haven't found one which will accept a note yet.

My problem with these machines is that the displaying of subway lines on them is completely redundant and only serves to confuse out-of-towners. Subway tickets are 2 kuai no matter which line you take where. I usually don't have a problem feeding them banknotes though.

I agree that the cars turning over a zebra crossing is rather dangerous if you expect a crossing for pedestrians. On the other hand, if you pay attention to which lane has a green light and goes where (and when other people are crossing) you can totally jaywalk across an eight-lane road. I never get to do that back home :-)

[Daan]

You may enjoy reading this ;)

[aristotle1990]

My problem with these machines is that the displaying of subway lines on them is completely redundant and only serves to confuse out-of-towners. Subway tickets are 2 kuai no matter which line you take where. I usually don't have a problem feeding them banknotes though.

This is due to this:

Before the flat fare was introduced on October 7, 2007, fares ranged from ¥3 to ¥7, depending on the line and number of transfers.

I guess it would have cost too much to replace or change the machines -- or maybe they were never planning on making the flat fare permanent. At any rate, the price is artificially low, causing congestion and reduced revenues (which they could use to expand the subway network). They should either ditch the machines and bring the flat fare up to ¥4 or just bring back the old system.

[imron]

Those machines didn't exist before 2007 - at least not in any meaningful way :-) Back then it was little paper tickets bought from the teller and ripped in half as you entered the steps leading to the platform.

[jbradfor]

Yeah, I remember standing in line to buy a ticket from a person, and then walking 10 feet to give the ticket to another person. "So that's how they get full employment here...." I thought.

[amandagmu]

Having just spent a week in Shanghai using the subway I'm wondering why they don't raise the rate to 4 kuai in Beijing. It would really cut down on the traffic, I think. I'm tired of getting on a full subway train at nearly any time of the day. Either run more trains or raise the fare.

Speaking of full-time employment, when do you think they'll phase out the mostly-useless maipiao-shouting women on the buses? (Although, to be fair, I'm still confused as to why all the parks and swimming pools have the two-step system for buying and ripping off tickets...)

[skylee]

(Although, to be fair, I'm still confused as to why all the parks and swimming pools have the two-step system for buying and ripping off tickets...)

I think the system is the same as most european museums - you buy the ticket at the ticket office, then someone at the entrance tears open the ticket (or you insert the ticket to / scan in the barcode at a machine at the entrance). No?

[Brian US]

In America the "no turn on red" law varies by state. My state you needed to do a complete stop before turning unless there was a separate light. I have seen some lights specifically for the right turn lane in Beijing.

I once sat at an intersection when a car stopped for the right turn light. The car behind him honked and honked to pressure the driver to run the red light. Eventually the guy went around him and as soon as he crossed the line, a police officer stepped out and wrote him a ticket. The first driver already saw the police officer. Only the second time I have ever seen someone get a driving ticket in China. My first time in China our driver got a 100 kuai ticket for driving on the wrong side of the road. In most Western countries I figured you would be arrested.

[Daan]

I tried to post a link to a funny blog post on this subject yesterday, but accidentally pasted in the wrong link, making my post seem even more nonsensical than usual ;) I've corrected that link and it now goes to a wonderful piece on The Art of Road Crossing. Enjoy.

[Lu]

At any rate, the price is artificially low, causing congestion and reduced revenues (which they could use to expand the subway network). They should either ditch the machines and bring the flat fare up to ¥4 or just bring back the old system.

On one hand, I completely agree, 2 kuai for that much subway is much too low and they could use the revenue. On the other hand, if they increase the price, how many people would be put off by a few extra kuai, and how would they get around?

Perhaps they should introduce some kind of discount card for low incomes. Doesn't seem likely to happen.

[xiaocai]

I've heard that one of the reasons Beijing government keeps the price low is because it wants to encourage people to take public transport. For similar reason bus fare is also cheap in Beijing. Maybe Beijing subway can get very crowed during rush hour, but you can easily imagine what is going to happen if you move half of the commuters from subway to the already heavily congested above ground transport. And apparently all the trains are operated at the full capacity during peak hour already. But for those older lines such as line 1, because it was planned and constructed in the 1970s, and probably no one at that time would have predicted that how much more populated Beijing would become in the early 21st century, it is always overloaded. And for those who worry about the financial condition of Beijing Subway, don't forget who is backing it up: Beijing Government. I'm pretty sure it will still run as normal and probably build new routes as planned even they have set the ticket price for 50 cents.

[lordnikon]

From the wikipidia page beijing subway

On the same day, subway fares were reduced from between ¥3 and ¥7 per trip, depending on the line and number of transfers, to a single flat fare of ¥2 with unlimited transfers. The lower fare policy caused the Beijing Subway to run a deficit of ¥600 million in 2007, which was expected to widen to ¥1 billion in 2008.[42] The Beijing municipal government covered these deficits to encourage mass transit use, and reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. On a total of 655 million rides delivered in 2007, the government's subsidy averaged ¥0.92 per ride

They are already trying to get cars off the road, if they increased fares more people would start driving, i know people who will drive to the subway in the morning and take the subway to work because the traffic is terrible and not worth it to drive your car during rush hour