Some 30 percent of local residents say cycling is their main means of transport and 60 percent of local cyclists pedal to work every day, a recent survey suggests.

The survey was conducted by the Shanghai Urban Transportation Planning Institute as part of study into the city's overall transport system that was performed from 2003 to the middle of this year.

"The survey tells us that cycling is still the most favored means of transport for locals," Cai Yifeng, a senior engineer at the institute, told Shanghai Daily Sunday.

The institute sent questionnaires to some 10,000 residents throughout the city.

According to the survey, 12 percent of the city's cyclists say they use their bikes to "transfer for public buses or subways," 6 percent use them to "go shopping," and 5 percent cycle to "go to school."

When asked why they prefer bikes to other forms of transport, 69 percent of respondents said "cycling is cheap," 18 percent said cycling is faster than taking a bus, 6 percent said "buses are too crowded" and 5 percent said they appreciate the "easy parking."

The survey also revealed that most of the local cyclists are between 30 to 40 years old. Cyclists told researchers that their average ride lasts for about 27 minutes.

By the end of last year, the city was home to 9.43 million bicycles, local traffic police said.

Cai explained that although the city's development of subways and elevated roads was moving ahead quickly, cycling has many irreplaceable advantages so that it will remain a key traffic means for a long time.

"During rush hour in downtown Puxi, the average speed of a car is pretty low, sometimes below 9 kilometers per hour - as low as what cyclists can achieve," he added.

Early last month, the city government said it is planning to build up a 160-kilometer-long road network for cyclists in downtown by next year.

However, cycling is still banned along some of the city's downtown arteries.

This 160-kilometer-long cycling road network, which includes many existing cycling lanes, will cover 252 roads within the Inner Ring Road.

"The government needs to put cycling under better control instead of prohibiting it in a thorough way," said Chen Youhua with the Shanghai Urban Planning Administrative Bureau.

(Shanghai Daily September 6, 2004)