Commuting efficiency in urban Beijing placed under scrutiny

Series of measures announced to ease travelers' woes

Commuting costs in megacities have been increasingly in the spotlight in recent years.

These metropolises typically boast a wealth of government policy resources, public welfare services and individual career opportunities.

In Beijing last year, people living in central urban areas of the Chinese capital spent 51 minutes on average commuting to work, traveling a distance of 13.3 kilometers. These figures are included in the 2021 Beijing Commuting Characteristics Annual Report released recently by the Beijing Transport Institute.

A commuting time of 45 minutes has become a common targeted standard for big cities worldwide, while a journey time of 60 minutes or more is regarded as "extreme commuting".People who spend over an hour each day on a single trip from home to work are known as "super commuters".

Keeping commuting times within 45 minutes is now regarded as an important indicator of a healthy urban transportation system.

According to the transport institute's report, those spending 45 minutes or less on a single trip in central areas of Beijing comprised 52 percent of commuters. Most of them live within the Fourth Ring Road.

Beijing's morning rush hours are from 7 am to 9 am, but this does not mean that every area of the city is bustling by 7 am.

According to the institute, those commuting at the peak of the morning rush tend to travel from the southwest of the city to the northeast－a reflection of their living and working conditions and the economic structure in different areas of the city.

Feng Yuying, 29, a designer living in the southwestern district of Fengtai, rises at 6 am to travel to work in Chaoyang district by subway.

"It takes me about an hour to get to my workplace, which is acceptable to me, as many of my colleagues spend even more time commuting," she said. "The subway can be very crowded after 7 am, so I prefer to commute early."