Every District in Beijing May Soon Have Shared Bikes

By Alistair Baker-Brian, September 22, 2021

Every district within the Beijing municipality may have shared bikes by the end of this year, according to the city’s transport department.

Mentougou, a mountainous district in the west of Beijing, is currently the only district in the capital not served by any of the three shared bike providers.

In 2016, the popularity of shared bikes peaked in the capital, with 16 private companies providing services. That number now stands at just three companies, including Hellobike, Meituan and Qingju.

The private companies operate alongside public shared bikes, which operate as part of the city’s public transport system and usually require users to park at a designated bike dock.

In 2020, shared bikes were used a total of 690 million times in Beijing, with a daily average of around 1.89 million.

There are currently around 941,000 shared bikes for short-distance trips in the city. The city’s six central districts, including Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang, Fengtai, Shijingshan and Haidian, are limited to 800,000 shared bikes.

In the city’s suburbs, authorities appear to be ever more welcoming of the convenient, low-cost and environmentally friendly form of transport.

In June of this year, people.cn reported that shared bikes provided by private companies would start to replace the public shared bikes in Yanqing district, home of the Badaling Great Wall. Hellobike noted that there had been 400,000 bike trips made having operated in the district for two months.

Reports in April of this year suggested that Meituan would begin operating in part of Pinggu district in the east of Beijing. Indeed, Meituan’s shared bike service area map now includes part of Pinggu.

Meanwhile, authorities in Miyun and Huairou also announced earlier this year that shared bike services would begin in the respective districts. As of press time, Huairou is shown on the Hellobike service-area map.

The expansion of shared bikes is positive news for Beijing, making commuters’ journeys that little bit easier. Just remember not to be a nuisance by dumping shared bikes wherever you please, especially in the capital’s iconic hutong.

[Cover image via Pixabay]