China moves to instil discipline in bike-sharing schemes

BEIJING — China’s government has stepped into the country’s bicycle-sharing industry, issuing its first set of rules to instil discipline and best practices, after more than 30 companies sprouted in major cities in less than a year.

This growth has created a multi-billion-yuan industry with millions of users, but with a multitude of social issues and annoyances.

Customers who use smartphone applications to rent bicycles must register their true identities and can no longer be anonymous, according to guidelines issued yesterday by the Ministry of Transport.

Users must also be older than 12 years, and be insured for personal accidents and third-party liability. Any illegal acts committed, or “uncivilised behaviour”, will be recorded and leave a mark on the user’s credit record, according to the rules.

The rules are the first since smartphone-enabled applications such as Mobike, Ofo and other bike-sharing companies took the country by storm in late 2016.

They have been popular as so-called “last-mile” transportation options to subway stations and major transportation hubs, especially in notoriously congested urban centres such as Beijing and Shanghai.

The proliferation of the shared bicycles, with their business model built on customers being able to pick up a bicycle anywhere, and leave it anywhere after use, has created new problems of their own. Unused bicycles are chucked around subway stations or badly maintained, and there is no certification of their roadworthiness.

The guidelines issued by the authorities have been “expected by the market”, as major operators such as Mobike and Ofo are already requiring their customers to be registered and insured, said Analysys International’s senior analyst, Zhang Xu, in Beijing.

Still, the rules in China came with some surprises. App operators are encouraged to stop requiring customers to put down a cash deposit to use the service. The sharing of electric bicycles, or mopeds, are discouraged, according to the rules, without an explanation.

“Even though the supervision of electric bikes is harder than for manual-powered ones, it shouldn’t be an excuse to refuse the business model entirely”, because it is an additional service option that broadens choices for the consumer, said Mr Zhang.

While the Singapore authorities have yet to regulate bike-sharing, transport experts have raised some concerns which they feel may require the Government’s attention, such as liability when accidents occur.

“If someone was injured, or caused injury to others, because they were riding a poorly maintained bike, should the system provider bear liability?” Singapore University of Social Sciences economist Walter Theseira previously told TODAY. 

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) had previously cautioned riders against the indiscriminate parking of bicycles, and encouraged operators to “put in place penalties and incentives” to encourage proper behaviour.

The Government will also take action against indiscriminately parked bikes, such as by impounding the vehicles and imposing “heavy fines” on operators or the culprits involved, it added.

“(Operators) should remove any indiscriminately parked bicycles or derelict bicycles expeditiously, whenever alerted by the public or any government agencies. Strict enforcement action will be taken against (users of) all indiscriminately parked bicycles,” the LTA said. AGENCIES