Summer Travels

Getting across a town of ~15 million people is no small endeavor. While the number of cars and taxi’s in Shanghai are multiplying faster than anyone predicted, few people can afford to have their own. Getting a drivers license is expensive and difficult. Those who can afford it, mostly expats, hire a driver. Starting at 11 yuan ($1.50) for the first 3km, taxi’s are a relatively affordable for travelers and business folk. Four yuan ($0.60) will get you across town on the metro, but many places in town are not near a metro station.

Motor scooters are a popular choice for personal transportation. I am not sure if a license is required to drive a scooter or not. Bikes are common, as are suped up bikes with small electric motors. All three of the two wheeled options travel at relatively slow speeds, 5 to 15 miles per hour. Significantly slower are the oversized tricycles carrying everything from a dozen or more 5 gallon dinking water containers, to a couple recently slaughtered pigs.

More interesting than the types of transportation roaming the streets, is how pedestrians, cyclists and motorists interact. Descriptions vary from chaotic, to self-centered, to disorganized but practical. Lane lines, modern traffic signals and other traffic regulations are followed if convenient. Generally people stop at red lights. That is except if you are turning right, in which case a red light treated as a yield.

I am reluctant to use the word “yield” here for that suggests that there is a sense of right-of-way for some vehicles over others. Yield in China means that someone else got to a space first and you have to wait for him to proceed otherwise you will cause an accident. Everything is first come first serve – pedestrian, bike or car, if there is an opening you take it. The resulting flow of humanity through the streets can be harrowing. Taxis dart through crowds of pedestrians in the cross walk. Merging vehicles push adjacent cars half way into the next lane. Rarely used in anger, horns warn a forward vehicle or pedestrian not swerve in front as you are passing. The prevailing rule is to avoid hitting others. Beyond that anything goes.

Several people have described this mode of operation on the streets and in other parts of life as selfish and inconsiderate. There is some truth to that, though I think it has as much to do with population density as cultural norms. Swimming in such a large sea of people, I find myself adopting similar me-first behaviors. Just yesterday in the produce section of Carrefore (supermarket) I found myself jostling for position in the “line” to have my bananas weighed and priced. As others arriving to the station after me tried to vie for position, it was clear that I had to be assertive or I would lose my turn...even if that meant me outmaneuvering someone who was in “line” before me.