Shanghai commuters were divided in their opinion after traffic authorities extended the operating hours of 120 bus routes from Monday with the sole purpose of coordinating between the Metro and bus schedules.

Some of the passengers wanted adjustments made on few routes as the changes affected their schedule.

There are now bus stops within 100 meters of the Metro stations and the last bus of such routes leaves at least 15 minutes after the departure of the last subway train.

But regular bus users complained about inconvenience and said the new timings affected their regular schedule.

Fengmei Line, linking Xinzhuang in Minhang District to Fengjing town in Jinshan District, was among the routes that had new timings. It extended its operating time to 11:42pm from previous 9pm and stretched the intervals for buses after 8pm.

The route had three buses leaving the terminal station close to the Xinzhuang Station on Metro Line 1 between 8pm to 9pm before the change — 8:20pm, 8:40pm and 9pm — which was the last bus for the day. But since Monday, it canceled the 8:40pm bus and pushed the 9pm bus to 9:10pm.

Three more buses have been added after that with intervals of 50 minutes.

“When the bus companies make adjustments, they should get the passengers opinion first,” said a regular Fengmei Line user, surnamed Zhu.

Zhu works in downtown Xujiahui and takes Metro Line 1 before transferring to Fengmei Line to reach her home in Fengjing town. She said the line now has more passengers who get on the bus from Xinzhuang’s terminal station between 8pm to 9pm than after 9pm, as most people finish work before or around 7pm. The longer time gap affects their daily schedule.

Zhu’s opinion was shared by another passenger surnamed Yao.

Yao works in Yangpu District and finishes work at around 7pm. He reaches the Fengmei Line terminal station around 8:30pm and usually took the 8:40pm bus. The changes means he has to take the 9:10pm bus instead and reaches home before 10pm.

“It’s a good thing to extend operation time, but they should not stretch the intervals. I have to wait for 40 minutes for a bus now.

“If I had other means of transports, I won’t choose this bus anymore. It badly affects my next day’s work.”

But a bus company official said it was still in a trial stage and all opinions will be taken into account before making it permanent feature.

“The operation is still in a trial stage and schedules will be modified after we collect suggestions from passengers,” said Cheng Jie, assistant manager of Jinshan Bus No. 3 Company, the operator of Fengmei Line.

According to Cheng, the Shanghai Transport and Port Administration wanted the bus companies to extend operation hours to provide transportation solutions to people who work till late evening. However, the extension increases the companies’ costs as it had to arrange more staff including drivers, conductors and dispatchers. The longer intervals help cut the expenses a bit.

The changes were however welcomed by few passengers who work overtime and miss out on the last ride home.

But the added buses did not operate to full capacity. The last three Fengmei Line buses ferried a total of 15 passengers on the first day of the new timetable.

Cheng admitted that the route did not have many late passengers. The last bus before the change that left Xinzhuang at 9pm rarely had more than 10 passengers. Cheng said people may not know of the new timings yet, while the cold weather was another factor. Late buses usually have more passengers in summer.

The extended 120 bus routes include some which go past Metro stations at Xujiahui, Shanghai Railway Station, Zhongshan Park, Hongqiao Railway Station and Century Avenue. These areas are either busy, have a large passenger load, or link to big residential communities in the suburbs like the Fengmei Line. Another 40 bus routes will extend their operation time early next year.

A staff at Shanghai Transport and Port Administration said the authorities would take the increased expenses of the bus companies into consideration.

They will look into passengers’ practical needs and scrap the extension of some of the lines if they are found to be unnecessary and didn’t serve any purpose.