Bikes cause traffic

last updated 8 January 2015

Shanghai, China

Shanghai, China’s largest city, will ban bicycles from major roads starting next year, the Shanghai Daily reported this week. Traffic police said swarms of cyclists running red lights and ignoring other rules of the road are to blame for the city’s horrendous congestion. The ban will be tough on commuters, since few of Shanghai’s 20 million residents can afford a car. The city has some 9 million bikes but fewer than 150,000 private cars. “Bicycles put great pressure on the city’s troubled traffic situation,” said police chief Chen Yuangao.