Originally Posted by
moondog
The bus is a bit faster; the travel time isn't quite as predictable as Maglev/subway (which is more or less exact), but is pretty solid because traffic is almost never an issue on the outer ring. Apart from speed, the strongest arguments in favor of the bus are: 1) no need to transfer; 2) luggage goes underneath; 3) you get a seat; and 4) avoidance of Line 2.
+1
Although I'd probably take the bus further out, at least to Suzhou or Wuxi but why not even to Nanjing?
Should be much easier to get train tickets once you are out of the Shanghai/Kunshan/Suzhou megacity commuter area (roughly 35 million inhabitants)