Starting from the evening of the 19th, the public bicycle systems in both Chancheng and Nanhai districts experienced system failures, leaving residents unable to borrow or return bikes at stations. By the afternoon of the 20th, some stations in Chancheng District were still not functioning. Reporters learned from the public bicycle management companies in both Chancheng and Nanhai that the malfunction may have been related to system upgrades. Both districts had upgraded their public bicycle systems on the 19th, and both encountered issues with borrowing and returning bikes during the upgrade process.
Ms. Li, a resident who works near Foshan No. 1 People’s Hospital, rides her bike to work every day. She borrows the bike from a station near her home and returns it at the hospital’s station. However, when she arrived at the hospital’s station on the morning of the 20th, she found the system was down and she couldn’t return the bike. “Later, a passerby told me I could return it at another nearby station — the West Gate Station of Mingzhu Gymnasium. So I rushed there by bike, but I still couldn’t return it,” Ms. Li said helplessly. “Because I couldn’t return the bike, I had to call staff to handle it, which made me late for work.”
It was later revealed that starting from 5:00 p.m. on the 19th, public bicycle stations in both Chancheng and Nanhai districts had successively experienced issues with borrowing and returning bikes. After the incidents occurred, the public bicycle management authorities in both districts gradually suspended the rental service and activated emergency plans. According to the plan, staff were stationed at each site to register users’ bike license plate numbers and codes, and issued paper receipts allowing temporary bike returns, with follow-up processing to be handled later.
Reporters contacted the public bicycle management companies in Chancheng and Nanhai and learned that both districts had upgraded their public bicycle systems on the 19th, and both encountered issues with borrowing and returning bikes during the upgrade. A person in charge surnamed He from the Guicheng Public Bicycle Management Office stated that the Guicheng public bicycle system had been repaired by 8:00 a.m. on the 20th. Yuan Haiyan, head of the Chancheng Public Bicycle System Management Office, told the Yangcheng Evening News that by 3:30 p.m. on the 20th, most of the public bicycle stations in Chancheng had resumed normal operation, though less than 10% of the stations were still malfunctioning and would be repaired as soon as possible.