Bike-sharing success needs efforts from all sides
It was only a year ago when a few young white collar workers in China’s big cities said they found “the last kilometer” between public transportation stops and their homes or offices to be a hassle, especially when they are running late. Despite improvements in the public transport system, there are always obstacles in reaching people’s desired destinations from metro stations. Walking would be too slow, yet calling a cab can be laborious and costly. Obviously, bicycle-sharing startups noticed the problem and offered a fast and easy solution.
Bikes-on-demand platforms have been mushrooming in many large Chinese cities since the end of last year. Unlike the public bicycle system, which has its own docking stations, users can find shared bicycles via a smart-phone app anywhere in the city. After paying a deposit, they can start using the vehicle and then drop them off wherever they want. For most bicycles, the first half hour is free of charge. However, before people can fully enjoy the convenience of these transportation apps, problems have emerged.
Earlier this month, a bicycle-sharing company founded in Putian, Fujian Province called “Kala,” claimed it has lost almost 80 percent of its bikes in the city within two weeks after its app went online. Reports are also coming out about shared bikes being sabotaged, disorderly scattered or abandoned in ditches and even in rivers in numerous cities. Some swindlers even stick fake QR codes on the bikes, so that when riders think they are paying deposit to rent the vehicles, their money is actually being stolen.
Issues like the abovementioned are hampering the expansion of this environmentally friendly initiative. More importantly, a growing number of commentaries argue that the bike-sharing program, which is supposed to be the pride of a highly civilized society, turned into a “monster-revealing mirror” in China. Some netizens noted that if too many bikes are missing or sabotaged, this transportation option may be eventually withdrawn from the Chinese market, which will cause social degradation.
But, people should be a little more optimistic. When policymakers were working on urban planning for public transportation years or even decades ago, they must not have foreseen this bike-sharing phenomenon. And now, they might be coming up with ways to protect those shared bicycles and decid- ing whether they should build bike stands for them. Of course, when it comes to sharing, self-discipline matters. The sharing system will only work if people are more conscientious about protecting public goods. Steps must be taken to raise the riders’ sense of moral responsibility. In the meantime, a reward and punishment system should be introduced when similar companies launch their service, which can help guide users as well as force opportunists to follow the rules. It is natural for newborns to get sick easily. But, it is comforting to know that being sick can help build babies’ immune system. The same goes for new products and apps. Bike-sharing can facilitate today’s urban mobility. It showed up because there is a need for it. Therefore, we should have an open mind, give the system some time to find its footing and give ourselves a chance to become better citizens. The concept of bike-sharing programs is new in China, yet is hardly new around the world. Learning from others’ experience may accelerate the process of letting the program take root in our cities. Some analysts call bike-sharing a revolution to put China back on two wheels. It sounds inspiring and environmental friendly. But, to achieve this goal, efforts from all sides are needed.