General Information » Getting Around » Car

Driving in Shanghai is a chaotic, confusing and often dangerous business. Major east-west roads divide up the city into north (bei), middle (zhong) and south (nan) sections and are often named after Chinese cities, such as Yan’an Lu, Nanjing Lu and Beijing Lu. Major north-south roads split the city into east (dong), middle (zhong) and west (xi) sections, and some of them are named after Chinese provinces, for example Shaanxi Lu and Xizang Lu. Those commuting from the outlying residential areas of Hongqiao will most likely use Yan’an Lu, which runs from Hongqiao Airport all the way to the Bund and through the Yan’an Tunnel into the financial district of Pudong. Major roads like these can be highly congested, especially during rush-hours. Cars are supposed to drive on the right hand side of the road but often waft in and out of lanes trying to gain the best advantage. Speed limits on the city’s single-lane roads are 30-40 kph, on the major roads they are 70-80kph, and on the city expressways they are 100 kph, although the congestion rarely allows for speed demons to get their fix. Road signs are written in pinyin as well as Chinese characters, but they remain terribly confusing: at a T-junction, for example, the sign will not show the name of the road running left or right but rather the name of the road that you will reach if you take that left or right turning, how far away said road is, is anyone’s guess.

Shanghai does not have a congestion charge, instead the government tries to reduce the number of cars on the roads by limiting the number of license plates it issues: approximately 80,000 per year. These licenses cost over RMB 40,000, an affordable sum for members of a growing middle-class with rising disposable incomes. Other expenses facing drivers include: car insurance, ranging from RMB 2,000-8,000 per year; a monthly ‘Road Maintenance Fee’ of RMB 250; petrol costs of approximately RMB 4.90 per litre; and parking fees which average at RMB 10/hour in public places. Violation of minor traffic rules will incur fines of up to RMB 200, and 2 points will be put on the license of somebody caught speeding, ignoring a traffic light or using a mobile phone when driving.