Shanghai's Integrated Transport Approach: Lessons for New Zealand

Shanghai is a thriving, exciting and simply massive 24-hour city. With a population of over 30 million one would expect it to be polluted, dirty and gridlocked. It’s not. While there is a LOT of traffic, Shanghai’s integrated approach to transport really is quite remarkable.  

Which got me thinking; what lessons can New Zealand take from Shanghai that it might be able to implement in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch? After all, Shanghai is not an ancient city in the way Beijing is, and its growth has been and continues to be rapid.  

Who needs a ute, when you have an 'electric donkey'? This one carries more than a typical Hilux.

Firstly, the city doesn’t have those pesky electoral cycles, but what is does have, that New Zealand should have, is a holistic approach to building the best city. While best is subjective, most would agree to having fast transport across and within a city would be helpful. Ideally it should be rapid, clean and affordable and offer choices.  

With that in mind, let's take a moment to see what Shanghai does well (and not so well) to help its citizens work and play. 

A Robust Electric Vehicle Policy 

Shanghai has placed electric vehicles (EVs) at the forefront of its transportation strategy. By 2027, public buses and taxis will transition to fully electric fleets, reducing emissions and reliance on fossil fuels. Residents benefit from incentives like free special license plates for non-commercial EVs, making adoption more attractive. Residents rarely have off-street parking and regional bus stations are not large, covered areas, and so the city has had to develop solutions for these challenges.  

One of the surprising sensations about Shanghai is how quiet it is. It is not because residents aren’t busy; they are, and very busy at that, but it is because there is little traffic noise. Nearly all of its cars, buses and mopeds are now electric. I heard less than a dozen petrol scooters in 5 days, no diesel buses and few cars were petrol powered. Some time ago the city limited some older more polluting petrol cars from entering the city.  

The Metro System: Backbone of Urban Mobility 

With a metro network spanning 808 kilometres and 508 stations across 19 lines, Shanghai's subway system facilitates over 10 million daily trips! This extensive network eases urban congestion and connects communities seamlessly. Auckland can’t compete with this, but the city rail link will help. The metro network is the backbone of the transportation infrastructure, plus there is also a fast train from the airport to the city. Put simply, you cannot build enough roads for 10 million extra passengers, and so Shanghai has clearly decided that an urban rail (metro) network is a way of avoiding spending more money on roads. Over the last week I’ve learned to use the network (it is simple but does take a leap of faith to use it the first time).  Auckland and Wellington also have a backbone of rail. It might be incomplete, and investment has been lacking, but it is there. One of the challenges is building for future growth. All three cities have growing populations. Planning effectively for future growth can assist with building the right rail network.  

Mega-dump pantograph style charger for buses at a local bus station.

Shanghai does have urban sprawl on a more extensive scale than New Zealand cities, however. The main difference is the population density. If New Zealand continues to build low density and wide, the urban transport solutions are more difficult to execute and more expensive (because patronage for any given distance is lower, and simply, more track must be built).  

A Comprehensive Bus Network 

Shanghai's 2,000 bus routes integrate effectively with its metro system, ensuring that underserved areas remain accessible. The ongoing electrification of Shanghai's bus fleets is set to be completed this year. The local bus stations have a number of ways to recharge the buses in downtime, including what looks like a pantograph fast charging solution as well as ‘two guns’ kerbside charging. Most buses I have seen are about two thirds of the size of Auckland Transport’s monstrosities. There seems to be a lot of standardisations too; even though there might be two or three main suppliers there is an interchangeability with the format of the buses (similar lengths, similar seating capacities) The fact that the buses are electric makes sense. Speeds are low, and they have a long operating life, so a decision made now lasts for 10 years.  

Use not own: The flexibility of ride share 

Didi is Shanghai’s preferred Uber alternative. I caught three and one taxi while in Shanghai. Each one was electric, from an MG5 (or Roewe i5) to a BYD Han, and a couple of AION Ys everything was relatively low cost and silent. Oddly the oldest vehicle was the taxi. But if you need a car to go cross town with your friends, it would seem that Didi was the way to go.  

Bike Lanes: Everywhere (and not a bollard in sight) 

One of the unsung heroes in Shanghai is bike lanes. They are everywhere. But not the messy bollard narrow lanes that Auckland is adopting. Just a lane on either side of the road, often where there is no parking, and sometimes separated along the banks of the river. Smaller city streets are shared with no dedicated bike lanes, but the sheer number of bicycles and scooters keeps traffic speeds low. Speed limits are a little lower too, typically 40kph on side streets and 50 on larger cross-town roads.  

Bikes for hire! Better make sure you have your Alipay app (which you also might well use for the metro).

Shared Bicycles: A Popular and Eco-Friendly Choice 

Shared bicycles are a cornerstone of Shanghai's short-distance mobility, offered by platforms like Hellobike and Meituan. These affordable and easily accessible services encourage cycling, reducing traffic congestion and promoting a healthy lifestyle. None of these bikes are electric, and they are all single speed. There are 300,000 shared bikes in Shanghai and everyone uses them, but there are no electric kick scooters (like Lime or Flamingo in New Zealand) as these are illegal. The fact that both Didi and Hello bikes can be used from Alipay one of China’s two super apps makes accessing these even more simple.  

Police bikes and moped charging.

Small Electric Motorcycles: A Unique Mobility Solution 

Small electric motorcycles, affectionately nicknamed "little electric donkeys," are everywhere in Shanghai, thanks to their affordability and practicality. With speed capped at 25 km/h, motor power limited to 400 watts, and vehicles weighing under 55 kilograms, these bikes comply with basic regulations while offering a convenient mode of transport for short commutes. They aren’t just commuters either. They are work utes, delivery vehicles and worker transportation. While you don’t see the crazy multi-occupancy that you might in Vietnam, there appears to be no limit to what one will carry, especially the heavy-duty versions. In fact, it's often common to see these donkeys carrying huge loads. So, while New Zealand’s tradies might drive a ute, in Shanghai it's probably a cheap electric scooter.  

Shanghai had a pollution problem, but no more. It wasn’t that China’s vehicles were more polluting than New Zealand’s, but they just had a lot more traffic. Petrol scooters were banned in 2016. Restrictions on out-of-town vehicles entering the main highways followed, then restrictions on older petrol vehicles were introduced. At the same time an integrated transport policy emphasized sustainability, accessibility, and practicality, providing a roadmap for other regions.  

Before we dismiss the cities as non-compatible, one of the important aspects that NZ cities share with Shanghai is that they are rapidly growing.  

We need cross party support to develop an integrated approach to building better cities. Currently we can’t agree whether we should be building a fast rail link to the airport or whether we should be building a second harbour crossing (the answer is yes to both). Politicising vehicle motive types is lazy and not in the best interests of country as a whole.  

Even the current coalition agree that our balance of payments deficit is an issue. We would have helped to fix that by buying less oil to power our vehicles. EVs are powered by fuel created renewably here in NEw Zealand. If only the same coalition hadn't destroyed EV demand. However, one vehicle type alone won't fix our issues. China has demonstrated that even cycle lanes help keep their cities moving more freely.