Fewer bikes downtown, more in the outskirts

An initiative to cut the numbers of shared bikes in downtown areas and moving more bikes to the city’s outskirts was launched on Tuesday.

The move came as a bike sharing service branch of Shanghai Bicycle Association was set up on Tuesday. Its members cover the city’s 13 bike and e-bike sharing operators.

This is also the country’s first self-disciplinary organization of bike sharing companies.

The newly set up branch launched the initiative to cut the density of their operating bikes in downtown areas and move more bikes to the city’s outskirts, during the opening ceremony.

Draft regulations on bike sharing insurance services were also released on Tuesday.

“We noticed that some bike sharing companies did not provide enough insurance protection for the users,” said Guo Jianrong, secretary general of the city’s bicycle association. “Some companies only purchased insurance for a portion of their bikes, and users would encounter a lot of difficulties when trying to reach a settlement if an accident happens.”

The bicycle association co-drafted the regulations on insurance services for bike sharing services with the city’s insurance association, with the aim of improving coverage and standards.

Meanwhile, the city’s bike sharing users’ credit system is expected to be integrated into the city’s general social credit system in 2018, which aims to encourage customers to use and park the bikes appropriately.