(Ecns.cn)-- A new phase of public bicycle rentals is to begin in Beijing, with more than 10,000 bikes to be put along subway Lines 5 and 10. The newly instituted pilot project in the CBD area will provide free rental bikes for half an hour, and 1 yuan for each additional hour, says the Beijing News on Monday.
Sources at the Chaoyang District Commission of Transportation revealed on July 8 that a state-owned company has been hired to formulate the plan for pilot project that will soon be launched.
According to the plan, a total of 200 bikes will be located at the Dawanglu and Langjiayuan subway stations. For each bike under the pilot project, individuals need to pay a 300 yuan ($46) deposit as a guarantee. These bikes are free for the first half hour, 0.5 yuan for the next half hour, and 1 yuan for each additional hour over the next 23 hours in a day. Therefore, it will cost 20 yuan ($3) at most in a 24-hour period to rent a bike under the pilot project.
The new program is being launched to promote the use of public rental bikes and is much cheaper than the current rental prices of 5 yuan per hour, said the Beijing News, Monday.
The newspaper also revealed that, according to the plan, the public bikes can be rented and returned in any of the six districts of Beijing, and any of the rental spots in the inner suburban districts. Once the pilot project runs smoothly in Chaoyang District, the pattern will be extended to all districts in the city.
Earlier this year, pilot projects for public rental bikes were launched in Haidian, Daxing, and many other districts. Users can get the bike by swiping a card.
Bike rental business faces challenges
Due to limited profits from the bike rental business, many private businesses in the field have challenges maintaining their operations. To help increase profits for bike rental businesses, some rental bikes started carrying commercial advertisements on July 10 in Yizhuang District, says the Beijing News. The news agency also called for a free rental bike program from the government.
Wang Yong, chief executive of a private bicycle rental service company said that public bicycle rental program in Beijing should be free, and residents could apply for rental cards with a deposit. "Then they can take and return the bike by swiping a card," added Wang.
He also stressed that bicycle rental programs can help to improve the image of Beijing, and that it's not supposed to be profitable.
A total of 50 billion yuan ($7.7 billion) has been invested by the municipal government of Beijing to promote the city's public transportation. "If the government can only spend 100 million yuan ($15 million) on a public bicycle rental program, it will certainly take off," added Wang.
He also suggests that the government transfer the maintenance tasks of such public bikes to the communities, where residents born in the 1950s, or even earlier, can find a job under the program cleaning and managing the bikes.
