ROADS in Shenzhen have recently become more congested during morning and evening rush hours compared with the same periods recorded in December last year, the Shenzhen Evening News reported yesterday.

The worsened traffic conditions are caused by an increasing number of residents who previously commuted by public transport turning to driving to work amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, according to an official with the city’s traffic police bureau.

Wu Kaifeng, deputy director of the traffic command division of the traffic police bureau, said that traffic recorded during the morning and evening rush hours of the week from March 23 to 27 increased by 20 percent from the same period of the previous week (March 16 to 20). It also went up by 15 percent from the same periods in December last year.

“The vehicle flow we recorded at the end of February was back to the average work-day level of last year,” said Wu.

Wu said the morning rush hour, which usually ends at around 9 a.m., now lasts one hour longer until around 10 a.m. “But vehicle flow now is lower during off-peak hours than that of last year though,” he said.

With a growing number of local enterprises having resumed work, Metro trains have become as crowded as usual.

Public buses, however, the News said, have been less busy than usual, adding that there were an average 20 to 30 passengers per bus for the several dozen buses that went through the Meilin Checkpoint during the morning rush hour Monday.

The traffic authority has called for green commuting and urged residents to take public transport on the condition that they have taken all necessary preventative measures.  

(Wei Jie)