Shanghai bustles again as life returns to normal(2)

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

Back on the roads

Before midnight on Tuesday, all tunnels and bridges linking both sides of the Huangpu River reopened. Police also removed barriers isolating districts.

The ringing of the Custom House bell on the Bund at midnight on Tuesday was accompanied by drivers sounding their horns to herald life in the city returning to normal.

Public transportation services, including buses, metro lines and ferries, resumed full operations. Shanghai's metro authority said that by 11 am on Wednesday, 913,000 passenger trips had been made on the city's subway network.

Cars from low-risk areas of the city can also hit the road again. Police said traffic was generally stable and flowing smoothly during the morning rush hour. The number of vehicles on the roads was about 60 percent of the average figure before the current outbreak emerged.

Chen Dong, deputy traffic police chief in the downtown district of Jing'an, said, "As many drivers needed to buy fuel, we deployed more officers at gasoline stations in the area to avoid congestion."

Taxis and other ride-hailing services also resumed operations.

A driver with the ride-hailing giant Didi, surnamed Zhang, resumed work before 7 am on Wednesday after receiving a booking the previous day to take a passenger to the Hongqiao Transport Hub.

"I felt quite excited to finally hit the road again," said Zhang, who for the past two months stayed in an apartment in Baoshan district with three fellow drivers. For the first month, they relied on instant noodles, as they did not have any cooking utensils.

Gu Xinyun, who works for SAIC Volkswagen, said the company called on its employees to help neighbors jump-start their vehicles, as the batteries may have become flat after two months.

He said more than 10 neighbors asked him for help in a week. While most of their problems were solved, some cars had serious power loss, with the batteries needing to be replaced.

"I'll help neighbors jump-start their vehicles and they can then drive them to the maintenance shop," Gu said.