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Will There Be Official Games-time Bus Routes?


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Will there be an official transport service for people with games tickets. If so, where are the routes -I've tried the official games website but its pretty badly organised in my view.

My experience tells me its worth being accommodated close to one of the offical bus routes!

thanks

Yes, the plan is to have free shuttle buses for anybody holding Games tickets, at least between venues. Details and routes have not yet been made public, but they'll be in fairly logical places on major arterial roads, if you check the official BOCOG venue map. The city bus system is already extensive and the major relevant routes will hopefully be made a bit more user-friendly (i.e English as well as Chinese). If you are looking for accommodation, one good plan is to get near a subway line. These are available with a bit of internet research on your part. Just make sure Line 5 (new and in operation) and Line 10 (opening to public in July) are shown. Subway stations, directions, etc. are all bilingual, unlike the city bus system. Public transport, and also taxis, are very cheap in Beijing.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Hi jie jie being in beijing do you use the subway in day to day life? If so are they already really busy?

Oh yes, frequently. It is cheap, safe, and efficient and often faster than going through traffic aboveground. Example: from my home (in the Central Business District on the east side of town) to Wukesong Basketball Arena on the west side, subway took 30 minutes and cost RMB 2 (yes, two), whereas taxi took 45 minutes and cost RMB 40! The subway system is usually busy, and especially busy during weekday rush hours and Saturday afernoons, but reasonably civilized and clean. Signage is in Chinese and English and is very easy to follow. Currently the Subway Authority is installing magnetic card reader turnstiles in most stations, these are supposed to be operational by end of this month. You will be able to purchase single-trip cards or stored-value cards at the stations. The existing flat-fare system (regardless of distance travelled) will be replaced by a distance-based fare similar to most other cities in the world. Older Lines 1 and 2 are ventilated but not airconditioned, so get a little warm in summer but are bearable. New Line 5 and soon-to-be-activated Line 10 have both trains and stations airconditioned. They will also have TV's broadcasting various events live, so if you lack tickets, maybe riding around on the subway or hanging out in the station may be a cheap alternative. :D Line 10 and Line 10 Olympic Spur will be very useful means of transport throughout the Games--get accommodation near a station anywhere on this Line and you should be a pretty happy camper. No need to be located on top of the Olympic Green.

Exception: If you will be spending a LOT of time at the basketball/baseball or cycling venues rather than other venues, you may want to consider alternative location if proximity to those is a priority.

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thanks for the advice. my accommodation is near Qianmen station on line 2 so will be a few line changes but will only be at the hotel to sleep anyway.

I will be close to you.

I will be at few hundreds meters from the Changchunjie station which is at three station of Qianmen on the same line.

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  • 1 month later...

Update

I just picked up my Phase 1 (Chinese) tickets from BOCOG yesterday, and with them came a lovely little Official Spectator Guide booklet that has every venue, transport, all kinds of good stuff. Unfortunately, it's only in Chinese (!) but the key stuff is graphical and easy to read. I didn't look for a downloadable English version on the official website, but maybe there is one there. I'm also not sure if with the international agents, these little booklets in English will be given out with those tickets.

The Spectator Guide shows the Olympic bus routes and shuttles being put on, looks good for transport along with the new subway lines. With an event ticket for that day, your ride on these buses is supposed to be free of charge. These are in addition to the regular city buses. Subway Line 10 is supposed to be opening up this week. The subway magnetic card (stored value and single trip) system is now operational--no more of those flimsy paper tickets (sob! :P ) And the distance-based fare system is going to be postponed for a number of months, so at least for the summer, all subway rides regardless of distance should remain at RMB 2 per trip. You can't beat that deal anywhere!

But, bring good walking shoes or sandals, as for most venues, there is usually a goodly distance between the closest transportation dropoff point and your seat.

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  • 4 weeks later...

A "Guide Map for Spectators" showing the Olympic bus routes has now been posted on the English language site, on the same page as the Spectator's Guide. Go to the home page, click "spectators" on the left, then click on the spectator's guide on that page to get to the link for the map.

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