Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2075091/thousands-bike-sharing-scheme-cycles-seized-shanghai
China

Thousands of bike-sharing scheme cycles seized in Shanghai

Bicycles impounded by the authorities after they were left by users in areas that breached parking regulations, according to newspaper report

A file picture taken last month of Mobike cycles used in the firm’s bike sharing scheme in Shanghai. Photo: AFP

Thousands of bicycles used in bike sharing schemes have been seized by the authorities in Shanghai after they were illegally parked or there were excessive numbers in some areas, according to a newspaper report.

About 4,000 bikes have been collected and stored by officials in a public parking area in Zhizaoju Road in the Huangpu district, the Xinmin Evening News reported.

The bikes were seized after they were left by customers in “non-designated” areas, the article said.

Most were owned by the bike-sharing operator Mobike, according to the article.

Residents have complained that they cannot find a space to park their own bicycles or electric bikes as most designated parking lots are filled with bike share cycles.

Bike sharing schemes have been set up in cities around China and it is estimated there are hundreds of thousands of the bicycles in Shanghai.

Parking is a particular problem in Shanghai, especially in older areas of the city where most roads are as narrow as three metres.

Yi Guangzhi, the head of the district’s vehicle management authority, was quoted as saying: “The development of the bicycle sharing industry can’t hinder the residents’ reasonable demand for parking their own vehicles, or let bicycles block the road.

“They are in excessive supply and have already affected normal orders,” Yi said.

Mobike was quoted as saying that it would cooperate with the authorities and pay some form of management fee to tackle the problem.

The company said it hoped its 3,500 bikes would be returned, the report said.