Beijing’s public bicycle system has been in operation for four full months. Yesterday, reporters learned from the public bicycle operations department that since the system launched in mid-June, not a single bicycle has gone missing, nor has there been any dispute where users were asked to compensate for malicious damage to the bikes. It is understood that recently, Chaoyang and Dongcheng districts will also add 5,000 new public bicycles to their service systems and put them into operation.
Recently, some residents noticed that seats were missing from bikes at certain rental stations, rendering them unrideable. Reporters learned from the public bicycle operations department that currently, all bike rental stations are inspected once or twice daily by maintenance patrol staff. Busier stations are even staffed with bike repair personnel and equipped with spare parts, allowing simple issues such as broken chains or bells to be fixed within 48 hours. Regarding the reported issue of missing bike seats, operators have also taken note. After investigation, it was found that these missing seats were not the result of deliberate damage by users returning the bikes, but were removed during the night. The operators are now working with local police stations to track down the culprits behind the vandalism.
Mr. Mou, head of the Chaoyang public bicycle operations team, told reporters that since the launch of the Chaoyang public bicycle system on June 16 up to yesterday, not a single bike has been lost. Mr. Mou explained that “bike loss” within the public bicycle rental system can mean two things: either a user fails to return a bike for an extended period, preventing its “return” to the system, or the bike is stolen. Over the past four months of operation in Chaoyang District, neither of these situations has occurred. In addition, users have generally taken good care of the public bicycles, and there have been no instances where users damaged the bikes and were asked to compensate by the operators.
It is also understood that as of this month, the first batch of 2,000 public bicycles in Dongcheng and Chaoyang districts have seen a total of 5,883 cards issued, with over 270,000 bike rentals and returns recorded. Usage rates have been gradually increasing, and overall operations are running smoothly. Recently, both districts will add another 5,000 public bicycles to their service systems and put them into operation. Starting from the 10th of this month, non-Beijing residents who reside in the city long-term can apply for a bike card using their ID and valid residence documents, further expanding the benefits of green travel initiatives to more people.
