Top Stories
Free bike system gets rolling on 100 sets of wheels
By Zhao Yanrong (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-02 11:06
 |
Large Medium Small |
Beijing kicked off its new public bicycle service program yesterday.
|
 |
As many as 100 free bicycles will be available for use at three stations to the more than 40,000 residents living in Chaoyangmen area of Dongcheng.
The first 200 Chaoyangmen residents received their new scannable transportation cards for the free bicycle use system by the Dongsi subway station, which is also one of the new free bike stations, Monday afternoon. The other two bike stations are in Dafangjia hutong and Nanzhugan hutong.
The new public bicycle service program is similar in intent to the one in place during the 2008 Olympics but is different in that it is managed by a computer system and involves Shanghai Forever Bicycle Co Ltd, one of the oldest bicycle manufacturers in China.
Each bike transportation card has a starting credit of 100 points. Bike users will get a one point added to their credit when they return bikes to any bike station within two hours. Bike-users who go over the two-hour time limit will be deducted points, depending on how long they take the bike out.
"It's going to make our life much more convenient," said Wang Jinghong, a female resident of Dafangjia Hutong, who is in her thirties.
Wang said it usually takes 15 minutes to walk from her apartment to the subway station.
"The new bike system will save time and parking fees," she said.
"We won't have to wait for the buses any more and we can get more exercise through biking," Wang added.
The local government considers this program as an extension of the municipal government's green transport strategy.
"Building the free bike use system is a good way to promote the idea of a low-carbon lifestyle in our subdistrict," said Zhao Jing, director of the Chaoyangmen area office.
Zhao also said the new free bike system will make local residents' short-distance travel around the city more convenient.
"It also helps us regulate the bicycle parking, which will improve the appearance of Beijing. In the future, we are going to build six more free bike stations in Chaoyangmen sub-district," she added.
"We are helping run the first public bicycle transportation system not only in Beijing, but also in northern China," said Zhong Ming, deputy general manager of the Shanghai Forever Bicycle.
Other parts of China, including major cities such as Shanghai and Chengdu, already have similar systems in place.
The company ran many trials in Beijing in the past three months, to make sure that the electronic system could withstand the outdoor environment, added Zhong.
"It is high time somebody set up a free bike system in Beijing. We should have had it a long time ago," said a passenger surnamed Shao, who has visited other Chinese cities that have these systems.
"The 100 free bicycles are not enough. All Beijing citizens should be eligible to use this system," he added.
