One or two luxury ferries equipped with air conditioners and comfortable seats will begin running between Shanghai's Puxi and Pudong in the second half of next year, Shanghai Ferry Service Co Ltd said yesterday.

Currently, more than 50 old ferries operate the route across the Huangpu River.

Each of the new boats is expected to cost 4 million yuan (US$493,827), and they are expected to make the five-minute trip across the river more comfortable, said Wang Jian, a Shanghai Ferry official.

"The city also hopes the ferries can be gradually upgraded to meet its role as an international metropolis," Wang said. "Current boats were designed in the 1970s."

The new boats will have separate sections for passengers, and bicycles and motorcycles. Wang said the new boats will also be less noisy.

The company hasn't decided yet if it will charge higher fares for the new ferries. Currently a trip across the river costs 0.5 yuan to 1.3 yuan. If the new boats prove popular, more will be put into use, Wang said.

Currently, about 400,000 people a day take ferries across the Huangpu River. In the 1980s and 1990s, nearly a million people a day used ferries in the city, but numbers have dropped with the construction of numerous bridges and tunnels across the river.

The new boats are expected to be smaller than current ships, which can handle 1,000 to 1,400 passengers at a time.

The company is asking regular ferry passengers to offer suggestions on several proposed designs for the luxury boats.

Suggestions and opinions can be made at the city's 12 downtown ferry terminals.

(Shanghai Daily September 23, 2005)