6 Major Changes that Could Soon Come to Shanghai Shared Bikes

By Zaruf Ezhan, May 10, 2017

Following a bike sharing craze that has resulted in congestion and crackdowns, Shanghai government officials last month proposed a draft guideline on the development of the city's bike sharing services.

Here are some of the main proposals addressed in the draft, according to Shanghai Daily:

1. More bike lanes

The city will arrange for non-motor vehicle lanes when building new or expanding existing main roads, and isolating these lanes for safe riding.

2. District governments to optimize parking spaces

Local authorities hope to set up suitable parking spots for non-motor vehicles around public venues, such as metro stations and housing areas, and also clarify where parking isn’t allowed.

3. Bike share companies should lower or not charge user deposits

…and use credit management systems or other similar methods instead. Deposit payments should be put in a bank account set up in Shanghai under the authorities’ supervision. Usage of the deposit money should also be made public.

4. Shared bikes must meet national standards

All shared bikes should be examined before public use and equipped with a working GPS. (Uh-oh, Ofo!)

5. Blacklist for users with multiple violations

Information of blacklisted users should be shared among bike share companies to restrict their usage of shared bikes. The police should also be involved to crackdown traffic violations by shaming the offenders.

6. Discontinued electric shared bikes

For safety reasons, the city is considering putting an end to developing electric shared bikes. This might spell the end for those green Xiangqi bikes.

Crackdowns on bike shares have been in the works and last month, the downtown district's government put into place measures that will regulate roads where you can - and cannot - ride or park your ride, to include your personal wheels.

According to the latest estimates, as many as 450,000 shared bicycles from 30 different rental platforms serving 4.5 million users have hit the streets of Shanghai.