Shanghai's transport system is gearing up to deal with more than 26 million passengers during the Spring Festival, up seven percent from last year, municipal officials said yesterday.

Municipal spokesperson Jiao Yang said the government "would be ready for the peak."

She said this year's Spring Festival travel peak would run from January 23 to March 2.

The Spring Festival, the most important festival for Chinese, falls on February 7 this year.

The huge demand on the transport system stems mainly from the masses of migrant workers going home and returning after family reunions.

Students and tourists also added to the congestion.

The number of city passengers during the Spring Festival has increased over the past few years as more and more migrant people flock to the city hoping to find jobs offering more money than what is available in their hometowns.

Jiao said the city had prepared additional rail services, long-distance buses, ferries and plane flights to meet the demand.

She said the city's railway ticket price would not rise over the busy period.

(Shanghai Daily December 27, 2007)