BEIJING , China ( CNN ) -- As Bus No . 37 pulled up at the Wangfujing stop near his office , Chris Tsao watched the line of waiting passengers quickly dissipate into a familiar scene of mild chaos as they pressed their way onto the standing-room-only bus . It 's a squeeze : Commuters on the subway in Beijing pack into a busy train . `` This is n't too bad -- actually much better than the subway , '' observed the 35-year-old graphic designer one recent evening as he boarded the bus for home , some 6 kilometers away but easily a 40-minute trip in the capital 's choking traffic . As far as the preferred mode of public transportation goes , however , Tsao belongs to a growing number of Beijing residents who are opting for the slower bus to the supposedly far more efficient subway . The Beijing Subway system , the country 's oldest , is undergoing an unprecedented expansion ahead of the Summer Olympics . Three new lines will begin whisking passengers to and fro before the Games start in August and , by 2020 , the route map will comprise 19 lines and 561 kilometers of tracks , making the network one of the world 's largest . Once a loyal subway rider , Tsao has given up on the train since last autumn . That was when the city authorities , in a bid to attract drivers of private cars off the road , slashed the ticket prices on the subway -- by more than half in some cases -- and introduced a flat fare of 2 Yuan ( 30 U.S. cents ) with unlimited transfers . The result has been undesirable : Surface roads remain congested and now so are subway stations . `` Almost overnight the trains became so jam-packed that it was just mission impossible during rush hours , '' Tsao recalled . `` I always had to wait for four or five trains , and then got shoved into the train by the crowd behind me without having to lift my foot . '' Other awkward moments ensued inside the sardine can-like carriages . `` As people typed on their phones right under my eyes , I was often forced to read their messages -- including a woman confessing to her husband about an affair , '' Tsao reminisced with some amusement . After a few weeks of endurance , Tsao switched to the bus for a more dependable daily ride . `` On paper the subway is a lot faster , but buses are less crowded and have dedicated lanes on many streets -- I end up spending about the same amount of time on the road , '' he explained . Tsao 's sentiment echoes those of many others , prompting media coverage and online debates on the city 's increasingly strained subway system whose average daily users exceed 3.5 million . Busy stations not only deploy `` door pushers '' to help commuters squeeze into the carriages during peak times but also limit the number of passengers on the platforms out of safety concerns . Amid mounting complaints about the system 's glaring inadequacy , officials have reassured the public the problems are growing pains . They promise a much more enjoyable journey when improved signals system and state-of-the-art trains are in place in the coming months . Tsao has decided to stick to the bus for now , having learned about new airport-like security checks at major subways stations ahead of the Olympics . Although the mostly non-air conditioned buses offer a rather unpleasant passenger experience during Beijing 's long hot summer days , Tsao unfortunately does n't have the one fallback option most of his fellow countrymen do . `` I ca n't bike , '' he admitted , blaming his mountainous hometown . `` Many of us from Chongqing have never learned how to bike because it 's just impractical to pedal in the hilly terrain . '' Steven Jiang is a Beijing-based freelance writer and former CNN producer .
More Beijing commuters shunning overcrowded subway in favor of city 's buses . City authorities attracted more passengers to trains when ticket prices were cut . Roads still jammed while subway network is expanded ahead of Olympics .