Facing a sprawling railway network and mounting fiscal pressures, Shanghai’s economic planner is considering a fare increase for its subway system after 21 years, making it the latest mainland city to target price adjustments amid widespread operational losses in urban railway transit. The city’s development and reform commission said on Wednesday that it would hold a public hearing on September 7 to review adjustments to its subway fare system, though no official proposal has been released detailing how much individual trips might increase. However, the subsidiary operates only limited assets such as the Pujiang Line, and parent-group financial data is not publicly available. Treated as a public service with artificially low fares, urban railway transit is often unable to cover its staggering construction and maintenance costs through ticket sales alone. This leaves municipal governments to step in with multiple forms of financial support to keep systems running.