Commuting in Beijing

So I'd heard about how bad commuting to work in Beijing is, but I always just shrugged it off thinking: how could it be much worse than commuting in NY, which I did for the past three summers? Boy was I off...
The quickest route to work for us (Nathan, Avril, and I) on public transit involves taking a bus 8 stops to a subway one stop, and then another bus for four stops. The entire thing takes about an hour. Getting on the bus during rush hour involves being literally pushed by the crowd until the bus is packed, and then the doors are closed literally on people. Depending on the size of the bus, there are different doors you enter and exit from. If it's got three doors, you get on in the middle and off in either the front or back; if it's got two, you get on in the front and off in the back. Also, if the route number is over 400, you have to swipe your card when you get on AND off because those buses are air conditioned. The subway is just about as ridiculous, except that you are contained within a space to walk in. The thing that I don't get and that bothers me to no end after commuting in NY is that in between said buses and subways, noone seems to be in any kind of rush. They take their time walking up the stairs from the subway, to the bus stops, and from the bus stops to work. This doesn't bother me so much in the morning, but when we get out of work at 6pm, it'd be really nice to get home, change, and eat dinner sooner rather than later.
Along this route, I've noticed some of the numerous jobs Beijing has come up with to employ its citizens:
-People stand at the bus stops waving flags to get pedestrians and bicyclists out of the way of the bus
-People stand on the subway platforms and line you up next to where the door's going to open and scream at you if you step over the yellow line
-People hand out newspapers to people entering the subway
-People collect newspapers from people exiting the subway
-People direct traffic at almost every major intersection, telling pedestrians and bicyclists when to go
I have since discovered that the best means of transportation in Beijing is by bicycle. I rented a bicycle for the equivalent of $10/month (with a $65 deposit). Riding a bike around Beijing is awesome and additionally is saving me a ton of money. I now ride my bike to work, which takes only 30 minutes, and I ride my bike to Ultimate twice a week, each of which takes about 10-15 minutes. Rental bikes come with a basket on the front too, so I can ride it to the grocery store and such. The roads in Beijing are constructed for bikes as well. Every intersection with a traffic light has a light for cars, a light for pedestrians, and a light for bicyclists. As I discover all of these secrets, I'm starting to feel more and more like I actually live here, though the language barrier is still really tough...