Commuted Sentence: BJ's Traffic is the Second-Worst in China
The good news: Your crowded Beijing morning commute just got better. The bad news: Beijing's commute is so bad that it can only get better.
Year-end reports are saying that Beijing has been ranked as the Chinese city with the second worst traffic, only surpassed by the coastal city of Jinan.
Along with third-place finalist Harbin, Jinan and Beijing were ranked as the most congested for traffic out of 78 Chinese cities, according to a study made by map service Amap and the Ministry of Transportation.
The study says that Beijingers spend an average of 268 hours every year commuting, averaging 1.3 hours every day traveling back and forth from their homes and driving at an average speed of 22 kilometers per hour.
Although Beijing hasn't been named the worst in any specific category, its name is repeatedly mentioned as one of the worst offenders. Both of Beijing's morning and evening rush hours are ranked as China's third worst in their respective lists while also rated as China's eighth-worst traffic during non-busy hours.
With its overall peak congestion delay index rated at 2.033, Beijing far outranks Shanghai and Guangzhou to steal the title of China's first-tier city with the worst traffic.
Despite the dire circumstances that Beijing has found itself in, Amap describes the overall traffic situation in China as one that has improved. Cities notorious for their commutes such as Hangzhou and Chengdu that were commonly ranked in the top 10 have fallen down the list. In fact, Amap is so optimistic with their findings that they predict 58 percent of Chinese cities will experience a decrease in traffic congestion this year.
Alas, things seem to be only getting worse for Beijing as it continues to climb the rankings of other traffic lists. Last year, Beijing climbed the ranks and became the tenth worst international city for traffic congestion after having ranked fifteenth in 2015.
Images: HNRadio.com, tieba.baidu.com, gdtv.cn
Top Stories This Week:
Beijingers Are Buzzing About: