2.13 billion trips are expected over the National Day holiday—your biggest enemy isn’t work, it’s the expressways 🚗
Starting tomorrow for the 7-day holiday, across the country an estimated 2.13 billion trips will be made, averaging 300 million per day—1.7 times the usual level. On October 1 alone, 340 million trips are expected, nearly double the usual, and it may set a new record for the same period in history. Highways are absolutely the main force: the share of people driving themselves is over 90%, and on the first day of the holiday, expressway traffic is expected to reach 71 million vehicles.
Didi’s data matches this as well: during the “National Day” period, ride-hailing demand increases by 21% compared with weekdays, and intercity ride-hailing demand rises by 55%.
My take is that this kind of “mass migration” releases all the travel demand people have been saving up—plus Mid-Autumn and National Day are only 3 days apart. “Take 3 days off to get 13 days off” holiday-planning has turned long-distance travel into a brand-new necessity. For friends driving yourselves, I sincerely suggest not to go head-to-head with the first-day crowds. If you shift your departure by half a day, the experience can be twice as good. And if you’re driving a new-energy vehicle, check charging stations at service areas in advance—this year, travel by new-energy vehicles is 1.8 times as frequent as usual, and charging piles may be even harder to queue for than gas pumps.
Source: Ministry of Transport press conference by the State Council Information Office (reported by The Beijing News on Sept 24); Southern Metropolis Daily (reported on Sept 30). Curated and remixed.
I’ll keep compiling what I notice on the roads during the holiday—follow me so you don’t get lost.
#国庆 #travel
Starting tomorrow for the 7-day holiday, across the country an estimated 2.13 billion trips will be made, averaging 300 million per day—1.7 times the usual level. On October 1 alone, 340 million trips are expected, nearly double the usual, and it may set a new record for the same period in history. Highways are absolutely the main force: the share of people driving themselves is over 90%, and on the first day of the holiday, expressway traffic is expected to reach 71 million vehicles.
Didi’s data matches this as well: during the “National Day” period, ride-hailing demand increases by 21% compared with weekdays, and intercity ride-hailing demand rises by 55%.
My take is that this kind of “mass migration” releases all the travel demand people have been saving up—plus Mid-Autumn and National Day are only 3 days apart. “Take 3 days off to get 13 days off” holiday-planning has turned long-distance travel into a brand-new necessity. For friends driving yourselves, I sincerely suggest not to go head-to-head with the first-day crowds. If you shift your departure by half a day, the experience can be twice as good. And if you’re driving a new-energy vehicle, check charging stations at service areas in advance—this year, travel by new-energy vehicles is 1.8 times as frequent as usual, and charging piles may be even harder to queue for than gas pumps.
Source: Ministry of Transport press conference by the State Council Information Office (reported by The Beijing News on Sept 24); Southern Metropolis Daily (reported on Sept 30). Curated and remixed.
I’ll keep compiling what I notice on the roads during the holiday—follow me so you don’t get lost.
#国庆 #travel
