While there are many options for getting around the sprawling metropolis that is Beijing, none are ideal. Buses, while cheap, are overcrowded, slow and difficult to use if your Chinese is not at an advanced level. Bicycles and motorbikes are good choices in certain areas (especially in and around hutong neighbourhoods), but don’t work well for long distances and can be dangerous in busy parts of the city where taxi drivers make liberal use of bike lanes. Most visitors get around the city using taxis or the subway. The subway system is currently undergoing major improvements, with four new lines to be added in 2008. By way of encouraging people to keep their cars at home, the city government has also lowered subway fares from ¥3 to ¥2. The experience is often claustrophobic, but more reliable than above ground transportation. Foreigners that don’t live or work close to a subway stop generally make use of one of Beijing’s 67,000 cabs. These cost ¥10 for the first three kilometres and an additional ¥2 per kilometre after that (at night, the cost goes up to ¥11 for the first three kilometres with an additional ¥3 per kilometre beyond that). Fears about dishonest drivers taking innocent foreigners for long rides around the city are seriously overstated, but even honest drivers often get lost. Knowing where you are going can save a lot of time and money.