The cost for my wife and I to use transportation in China is basically ZERO.
How could this be possible?
What is the typical cost of different types of transportation in China?
No need to fear, I’ll elaborate on the answers to both of these questions momentarily.
Our Transportation Situation in China
While not all people have zero transportation costs, my wife and I fall into the category of not owning a car in my wife’s city here so we just ride electric bikes! Which honestly is very convenient, and FUN!
No matter if China gas prices rise or fall, we’re set with our electric bikes which also don’t need any insurance.
My in-laws already had two electric bikes and two gas motorcycles. Fortunately, we did not have to purchase these, and we don’t drive motorcycles since they require a motorcycle license.
There are actually different types of electric bikes classified by different colors of license plates. Red license plates represent a slower bike and don’t require a license. We drive this kind since we both don’t have licenses, well at least not yet.
Typical cost of electric bike rentals, busses, and taxi services
So there are really nice rental electric bikes located throughout the entire city where we live. If you’re visiting and only planning to stay a short time, then using these rentals is a pretty nice option.
The first 20 minutes only cost 0.30 cents (USD) with every minute after that at 0.15 cents (USD) per minute, not too shabby right?
If you’re planning to stay longer, I’d recommend buying an electric scooter. There are smaller models for as low as 100 USD. If you are looking for more space and comfort, a larger one could be purchased for around $500 USD. One of the electric bikes we ride is 10 years old and just had a replacement battery added. That replacement battery cost $77 USD.
The bus price is also great although we haven’t used it yet since we love driving around the electric scooters. The bus fare can be as low as $0.20 cents (USD) for each ride and go around the city.
There are also services similar to Uber or taxis here in China. The typical cost for a 15-minute ride is only $2 USD in my wife’s city in Southern China. Still, the price is not bad at all.
Although there isn’t a subway where we live, there are many subway stations and options available in other cities such as Beijing and Wuhan (both places we’ve traveled to before). The price is still affordable and it’s a very convenient way of traveling, especially between cities.
