The long delayed fare hike on the Beijing Metro finally came into effect December 28th, and the change has not gone unnoticed amongst riders. Within one week of the hike, ridership has dropped an estimated 10 percent.

There were only 9,106,100 metro riders this past Monday compared to 10,081,500 riders the Monday prior to the hike, a total drop of 9.68 percent. Line 1, the oldest and one of Beijing’s busiest subway lines, suffered a 20 percent drop in ridership, with only one million riders recorded for January 5.

Citing the Beijing Transportation Research Center, the Beijinger reports there has been 800,000 fewer trips taken on the Beijing Metro since the new pricing scheme came into effect. It also notes that older lines like Line 1 have been hit hardest, while newly expanded lines like Line 6, have experienced an increase in ridership due to an extension of service that came into effect the same day as the price hike.

While this may make your morning commute a little more comfortable over the next few weeks, experts anticipate ridership will recover soon.

Photo: 10086