Subway in Beijing is cheaper than that of Shanghai. Bus, taxi is available, too. But Beijing has horrible traffic jam, driving your own car to work is not recommended, but the public traffic is very, very, very, very crowded!

 

Suggestion: If you don't have much luggage the subway is very convenient. If you do have big bags then take a taxi because line 2 can get very crowded, especially at rush hour (7-9am and 6-8pm is the worst). The only transportation card is the Yikatong card, which is a stored value card. You won't save much money with it, but it's worthwhile just so you don't have to queue up for a ticket every time. You can buy them at all subway stations, including the airport express station at the airport.