On July 7, Mr. Zhou, a resident of Changsha, visited Meixi Lake with his family and was pleasantly surprised to find something new along the lakeside cycling path—seven public bicycle rental stations and 200 shiny, stylish public bicycles. "Changsha has public bicycles now!" Many citizens were eager to give them a try, looking forward to experiencing low-carbon travel amid the picturesque scenery.
Following Zhuzhou, which launched the first public bicycle rental system in the province in 2011, healthy, economical, and eco-friendly public bicycles have now “rolled into” six cities across the province: Zhuzhou, Changde, Yueyang, Xiangtan, Chenzhou, and Changsha. These cities have either established or are currently building public bicycle rental systems. According to statistics, in the four areas where the system has been implemented—Zhuzhou, Changde, Liuyang, and Linwu—a total of over 23,000 bicycles have been put into use, with more than 220,000 residents applying for membership cards. Among these, the usage of public bicycles in Zhuzhou has exceeded 100 million trips. Currently, pilot and demonstration projects for district and county-level bicycle rental systems in the province have been initiated.
Public transportation such as buses and taxis is gradually achieving a green “upgrade.” At present, the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan area has put 6,580 hybrid taxis, 2,061 hybrid buses, and 809 natural gas-powered buses into operation. In accordance with the "Clean Energy, Energy-Saving and New Energy Vehicle Promotion Implementation Plan for Urban Public Transport (2012-2015)," efforts are being made to promote vehicle exhaust emission compliance testing, mandating the scrapping of non-compliant fuel-powered vehicles in the urban public transport sector of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan area, and advancing the full transition of buses and taxis in the three cities to clean and new energy sources. Last year, Changde launched the first phase of its bus rapid transit line, becoming the first city in the province to adopt a BRT system. Now, the construction of Changsha’s BRT lines is also on the agenda, as prioritizing public transport and promoting green travel gradually moves from “paper” to “pavement.”
Green travel has also generated unexpected economic benefits. The “Zhuzhou Model” of the public bicycle rental system has gained nationwide popularity, with dozens of cities coming to learn from it and bringing in a massive order worth 500 million yuan. Some cities directly purchase public bicycles produced by Zhuzhou Jianning Company, while others also opt for “buying into” the after-sales and management services of the “Zhuzhou Model.” Meanwhile, new-energy buses produced by CSR Times Electric are rapidly making their way across the country.