New regulations keep bike-sharing on track

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"Riding a bicycle is so convenient as it avoids traffic jams and saves time," said Ryan Zhuhonghao, a senior at Renmin University. "For me, bike-sharing is a brilliant idea and the cycling culture is so useful."

Ryan is one of over 130 million bike-sharing users in the world's most populous country, which now has around 70 bike-sharing brands operating more than 16 million bicycles nationwide, according to the Ministry of Transport (MOT).

Pioneered by two leading Chinese companies – Mobike, which is funded by Tencent, and its Didi Chuxing-backed rival, ofo – bike-sharing is booming in China.

The government has created special lanes for bicycles where cars are not allowed, adding bicycle signs to the traffic signs. "I think it is a very good policy for society," Ryan told Xinhua while leaning on an orange bicycle he had just rented.

An employee of a parking firm putting bicycles from the bike-sharing companies Mobike and ofo onto a truck in Shanghai. /AFP Photo

Using a shared bike is easy. The user simply opens a mobile app, locates the nearest bike, and unlocks the bike by scanning the barcode with his or her smart phone.

"They are available all over the city, they spare people traffic congestions and they don't produce harmful gases, so they are environment-friendly," Deng Xuan, 20, from central China's Hunan Province, told Xinhua.

To better regulate shared bikes, the government set new guidelines in August to keep the bike-sharing system on track and avoid random parking outside subway stations that sometimes leads to congested sidewalks.

"Shared bikes are part of the green urban transport system, and municipal governments should optimize bike transportation networks to improve convenience and safety for riders," the guidelines said.

Impounded bicycles from the bike-sharing companies Mobike and ofo in Shanghai. /AFP Photo

Cycling culture is not new to China as it existed long before automobiles became common. Now cycling is again becoming popular amid the growing desire for sustainable development and clean energy.

A man walks past impounded bicycles from the bike-sharing schemes Mobike and ofo in Shanghai. /AFP Photo

"I have been riding bicycles since I was a young lady," said Wang Xihui, 70, who stopped for an interview with Xinhua at Nanlishi Road of Xicheng District. "The bicycle is very important to me, as it is very convenient while going out shopping or doing anything else," she said.

Sometimes the city has too many bikes. A survey from the Shanghai Bicycle Association showed that half a million bikes are sufficient to meet the daily use for Shanghai, but the city is home to over one million shared bikes.

The new guidelines urge local governments to study the rational allocations needed, to avoid excess supply in certain areas. The hope is for bike-sharing to be a solution, not a problem.

Mobike and ofo, China's two leading firms in the field, are now offering their services outside of China. Mobike's services are now available in Britain, Italy, Japan and Singapore, and it has announced its entry into the Malaysian market on Wednesday.

Bicycles of the Chinese startup Mobike are pictured during the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference July 17, 2017 in Aspen, Colorado. /AFP Photo‍

Ofo operates in Singapore, the United States, Britain, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan. Its co-founder Zhang Siding told Xinhua earlier in July that his company plans to expand in 20 countries by the end of the year.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency