Whistleblowers of the bike sharing community

Every day, Zhuang Ji moves around the city to remove fake QR code stickers or unauthorized advertisements on shared bicycles and reports offences such as improper parking, traffic violations and malicious damage to these bikes.

In bike sharing circles, Zhuang is known as a “hunter”, the antithesis of the black sheep within the community who misuse or damage shared bikes. His actions are voluntary and he is not hired by any of the bike sharing startups.

According to a People’s Daily report, there were 19 million shared bike users in the country as of the end of last year. There are currently about 20 shared bike operators across the nation, including the pioneers such as Mobike and Ofo.

To discourage users from parking in prohibited zones and damaging the bikes, Mobike rolled out a system that deducts credit points from offenders — lower credit ratings mean more expensive rides for users — while rewarding those who abide by the rules or whistleblow.

For example, all Mobike users start with 100 credit points. Every ride they make earns them a point. Reporting a bike that is damaged or improperly parked earns them a point too.

On the other hand, those who park Mobikes in a compound are slapped with a 20-point penalty. Riders who use their private locks on the bikes have their credit reduced to zero immediately, which results in their accounts being frozen.

Zhuang made his first report to Mobike in May 2016. He later created a group for fellow hunters like himself. Around 3,500 people from 33 cities, including Singapore which Mobike recently entered, have since joined this group. Zhuang said that each person reports an average of six errant riders daily. The most prolific hunter in the group has made 4,000 reports.

He believes that the group is akin to an intelligence network. Each city in this network has its own WeChat group that allows members to share their experiences with one another.

“The members are very active. Once, it took them just 20 minutes to trace the user who threw nine Mobikes into the Huangpu river,” he said.

Zhuang said people are motivated to be a hunter because they simply like the thrill of the hunt. After all, Mobike credits cannot be redeemed — having many points in one’s account only serves as a cushion for offences.

“I don’t expect any return from being a hunter,” he said.

Zhuang has even managed to combine his hobby with his job as the curatorial assistant at the Power Station of Art, having introduced parking spaces for shared bikes at the museum’s front door.

He noted that all the hunters in the group only report errant Mobike users as the bike operator has the most sophisticated reporting system. He called for other operators to launch similar systems so as to better regulate the shared bike scene.

Zhuang is currently preparing to hold a “hunters convention” in May or June for members in the group. He is also planning to invite representatives from bike sharing companies.

“I hope executives from Mobike, Ofo and other bike sharing companies can join in the discussion and listen to our opinions of how the market can move forward,” he said. He Qi in Shanghai contributed to the story.

GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY Zhuang Ji has made reporting offences of other shared bike users his hobby. There are thousands more like him in China.