For anyone who loves a good bike story, here’s one for you: public bikes are booming in China. “There are 39 public bike schemes in China—dwarfing all other nations,” TheCityFix writes.
“The attention for pubic bikes in China is partially related to the success of the Hangzhou public bike program. Currently, Hangzhou runs the largest bikeshare program in the world with 250,000 trips a day with more than 60,000 bikes and 2,177 stations. This system, which is funded entirely by the municipal government, was planned and built within only three years The red bicycles have been so well-received by the public that it inspired many other Chinese cities, including Beijing, to replicate the Hangzhou model. On June 16, the Beijing municipal government launched its public bike program. The first batch of 2,000 bikes have been stationed in 63 places with high-traffic flow in Beijing’s Dongcheng and Chaoyang districts. According to the plan, 50,000 bikes will be in use in 1,000 designated service places by 2015 to cover major districts, transportation hubs and streets.”
For much more on this matter (including info on planning, design, and financing), check out: China Transportation Briefing: Booming Public Bikes.
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