Originally Posted by
gbjd1205
I agree that riding the maglev is great fun, and I make a point of doing it every so often. That being said, the city station is rather inconvenient and the wait can be longish. Moondog says that he has timed it and that taking the bus from downtown is actually faster, so ride the maglev as a tourist attraction, not as the fastest means of getting to or from the airport.
yes, it's true; i time that stuff.
if you're going anywhere to/from anywhere near jing-an park, the #2 bus is hard to beat (considering you probably need to wait in line to get your taxi).
as for the maglev, my most recent data point is from the westin (my boss, like many fters, likes that place) to pvg during rush hour.
iirc, i walked to the subway station (10 minutes), waited for 3 minutes, took the subway to longyang rd (20 minutes), waited for the maglev (10 minutes), took the maglev (8 minutes), walked from the maglev to the check-in counter (5 minutes). that's 53 minutes total. i think a taxi might have taken one hour during the same rush hour, but certainly an easier hour than i had to endure.... nothing about the maglev is easy