In a recent email to a friend in Shanghai, I coined a the new phrase "driver induced gridlock" to describe the type of gridlock caused solely by impatient, ignorant drivers as opposed to gridlock caused by too much traffic, accidents, bad weather, etc.
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Original Post: July 31, 2007
Traffic congestion in Shanghai is usually not too bad. Many people use public transportation (ferry, bus, subway, and light rail), bike, take taxis, or walk. But during rush hour the subway is packed, buses are crowded, traffic moves slowly and empty taxis are few.
One of the busiest intersections in Shanghai - Nandan Lu and Caixi Bei Lu - is just below our apartment window. It has loads of pedestrian, bus, motorbike, bicycle, and bus traffic due to it's proximity to a major metro station, a major business and shopping district, a sports stadium complex, and a major north-south expressway.
It is amazing to peer from our window and watch the action - the flow of humans and machines. However, last Saturday night, the flow became a trickle. Gridlock. Even though there was no accident, no construction, and the traffic lights were working, the flow came to a momentary stop.
Here's a photo.
After about 10 minutes the grid became unlocked.
1 comment:
I'm enjoying reading your blog. Great pics too. Glad to hear all is going well for you in Shanghai! Cheers, Joel in NC
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