Shared wheelchairs introduced in Beijing hospital

BEIJING - Twenty shared wheelchairs went into operation at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing earlier this week as part of the hospital's efforts to improve its services.

The wheelchairs are available in the hospital's outpatient waiting hall, emergency room as well as the parking lot.

To use a shared wheelchair, a person can scan the QR code on the wheelchair with Alipay and pay a deposit of 198 yuan (about $31). Users with a score higher than 650 on Zhima Credit don't need to pay a deposit.

The wheelchair is free for the first two hours and then costs three yuan per hour. A maximum of 20 yuan will be charged for 24 hours.

The hospital plans to introduce more wheelchairs in the future. It will also arrange professional maintenance workers to regularly clean and disinfect the shared wheelchairs.