BEIJING, Aug. 16 -- The number of urban passenger trips in China soared 15 percent year on year in the first half of this year (H1), official data shows.

A total of 45.42 billion passenger trips were made in China's urban areas during the period, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Specifically, the number of passenger trips handled by China's urban rail transit networks surged 45.9 percent year on year to 13.64 billion, while those through ferry services skyrocketed 113 percent to 38.72 million.

In the same period, urban passenger trips made via bus and tram stood at 19.87 billion, up 4.6 percent from the same period last year, while trips by taxi rose 6.8 percent year on year to 11.87 billion, the data shows.