"Kingdom of the Bike"

Beijing has stumbled upon a new technique to reduce pollution in advance of the Beijing Olympics. It has spent the last 5 years doing what it can to discourage bikes and scooters, so the Beijingers must be a bit confused.

[A]uthorities in the city are hoping a new bike promotion campaign will be equally popular and reinforce its status as the capital of the "Kingdom of the Bike".

Following the success of the car reduction test event, which ended yesterday and recorded four consecutive days of Grade II air quality, the government on Saturday unveiled a new bike rental scheme to maintain the momentum.

Actually, according to the Olympic's Committee, the car reduction test event wasn't terribly successful.

Under the scheme, 50,000 bikes will be available for rent soon throughout the city. They will cost 100 yuan ($13) for a one-year contract or 20 yuan per day. Users have to pay a 400- yuan deposit, but this is refunded, less annual rental fees, on return of the bike.

Consider that a fairly new bike only costs 200- yuan, and the rider can forego the 400- yuan deposit.

Regular repairs and an old-for-new exchange service are also included in the price.

I can't imagine this appeals to most Chinese. There are bicycle repair shops on every corner and repairs seem to run less than 10 yuan.

In recent months, the Beijing government has been running trials of the service in 31 locations across the city.

"It has proved really popular, so it is worth rolling it out across the city," Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing municipal environmental protection bureau was quoted by the Beijing News as saying.

It is estimated the rental network will cover some 200 locations by the time of next year's Olympics in a bid to ease traffic congestion.

"Bikes have never become outdated in China, and they are even starting to have an impact on cities around the world," Du said.

A China Daily poll found most people were in favor of the scheme, saying it would help reduce pollution and ease traffic congestion.

At the end of 2003, Beijing had more than 10 million registered bicycles.

I like the bike idea even if I'm not willing to sacrifice my own life to ride one. One of the attractions of Shanghai is all the bicycles in mass chaos in the morning. Many areas of Shanghai have discouraged bikes for years, but the City also discourages cars (US $6,000 per license plate is a bit steep) which is a bit tricky.