Transport: Taxis are the preferred mode of transport for visitors in
Shanghai. The metered Volkswagen cabs in primary colours are easy
to identify and plentiful. The smaller, older cars are generally
cheaper. All can be hailed on the street or booked by telephone.
Self-driving in a rental car is not a good option in the teeming
tangle of streets, and visitors are required to submit their
driver's license in order to obtain a license, which will be given
back on leaving the country. Many visitors opt to join the city's
estimated seven million cyclists and rent bicycles from their
hotels or one of the numerous hire shops in the city. To cover
longer distances the Shanghai subway, costing just a few cents a
ride, is the perfect solution, covering the downtown area. It is
still being extended, ultimately to connect to the airports. Public
buses are extremely cheap, but very uncomfortable and inconvenient,
being hot, crowded, unreliable and preyed on by pickpockets.
