On the morning of the 27th, officials from the Municipal Transportation Commission’s Transport Management Bureau, Beijing Public Bicycle operators, and other related departments said in an interview on the City Service Management Radio that starting this October, the public bicycle rental services in Dongcheng District and Chaoyang District will be opened to non-residents.
Over 1,000 rental cards processed in 10 days
According to reports, on June 16, the city officially launched its public bicycle rental service, with 63 service points in Dongcheng District and Chaoyang District already operational. Currently, over 1,000 rental cards have been issued in the two districts, with more than 1,700 instances of bike rentals and returns.
Regarding the current inability of non-residents to rent public bicycles, Chen Zhehua from the Yanhongzhou Parking Management Office, operator of Beijing Public Bicycle, stated that this is mainly due to the pilot phase having a limited number of public bicycles available, so non-Beijing residents are not yet able to apply for rental cards. However, she also mentioned that it is expected that starting October this year, rental cards will be available to all commuters in both Dongcheng and Chaoyang districts.
Jiao Tongmin, a researcher from the Motor Vehicle Rental Management Division of the Municipal Transportation Commission’s Transport Management Bureau, said that around October this year, approximately 10,000 bicycles will be deployed in Dongcheng and Chaoyang districts, with over 300 service stations.
Reporters previously learned from transportation authorities that as the number of rental stations and public bicycles increases, long-term non-local residents in Beijing as well as tourists from outside the city will also be able to visit any public bicycle service center in their area, and with their valid ID and a copy, use a rechargeable municipal transport card to activate a real-name rental function.
It is understood that there are currently 30 rental points in Chaoyang District, which will increase to 170 in the second half of the year. The district is currently researching which rental points require tidal dispatching (adjusting the number of bikes based on different time periods). In the initial stage, if users are unable to return a bike or find all bikes rented out, they can either call the hotline for assistance or ask nearby dispatchers for help. The Chaoyang District bicycle rental hotline is 4000887806, and the Dongcheng District bicycle rental hotline is 4001577157.
One service station every 500 meters within the Fifth Ring Road
Jiao Tongmin explained that in the second half of the year, Xicheng, Fengtai, Shijingshan, Daxing, Tongzhou, and Yizhuang will launch public bicycle pilots, with Haidian and others to follow next year. By the second half of this year, the city will have 25,000 public bicycles and 500 service stations, covering areas within three kilometers on either side of subway lines. By 2015, there will basically be one service station every 500 meters within the Fifth Ring Road.
It is reported that transportation authorities require bicycle rental operators to ensure that over 90% of their bicycles are in service. In case of loss during rental, users will need to compensate based on the cost price of the bicycle.
