Bike to work (Photo : Getty Images)
Biking is a way of life in China. In fact, there are half a billion bicycles in China--about 1 bicycle per household.
In Beijing, registered bicycle riders are 7 million, and in Shanghai, 6.5 million. In most places, these bicycles outnumber cars at least 10 to 1.
Chinese people bike to run errands, commute to work, as a form of leisure, and a means of exercise.
However, bicycle’s growing popularity, resulting in ride-share bicycles parked randomly across Beijing, has been causing problems for pedestrians and public transportation.
In a report by China Travel & Tourism News, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport is planning to regulate the parking of these bikes, which are owned by bike-sharing companies.
Authorities in Shanghai, Shenzhen, other cities in China, including Beijing, have reportedly expressed their desire to impose stricter regulations regarding bicycles rented out by Mobike and Ofo.
Mobike and Ofo pioneered this service globally. In 2016, they launched their services in Beijing, but their services have drawn many complaints such as random parking of ride-share bikes.
Accordingly, this random parking is causing disorder around the entrance of many subway stations in the city and high-traffic areas since that time.
A Chinese bicycle-sharing start-up backed by tech giant Tencent Holdings, Mobike has become popular among daily commuters due to its low rental fee.
Users are required to deposit 299 yuan (HK$342), and then they can rent a bike at 1 yuan per hour.
Ofo, on the other hand, is also a Chinese bike-sharing start-up, but it runs via iPhone and Android apps, so basically, it is easy to use.
To encourage users to park their bicycles in areas designated by these two companies, they are reportedly considering giving discounts.
In the past, they have already tried solving or reducing the problems with the help from local officials in Beijing.
Recently, they met with transport officials and have agreed to help again in renovating transportation facilities, including parking areas for bicycles by providing data.
