Too lazy to take the stairs? Beijing elevator charges residents 3 US cents per ride
Pilot scheme set up as way to fund the installation of lifts in old blocks without elevators, newspaper reports
A pilot scheme has been started in Beijing charging people to use newly installed lifts in older residential blocks, according to a newspaper report.
The first lift was opened last week in Daxing district and 10 more would be installed in older buildings without elevators this year, The Beijing News reported.
It costs 0.2 yuan (3 US cents) to use a lift and customers pay with a top-up card.
It is the first scheme of its kind to operate in the capital, according to the report.
A family of three would spend about 60 yuan to 100 yuan a month to use the lift, the firm that installed the elevator was quoted as saying.
A similar scheme was launched in Beijing’s Haidian district last year, but residents were charged a monthly “subscription” fee to use the lifts.
The elevator firm’s chief designer Zheng Hongan told the paper: “Residents don’t need to pay construction and maintenance fees. They pay only according to their needs.”
The company also planned to put advertisements in the lifts to cover construction costs, he added.
There are 2,264 buildings in Daxing built before 2006 which do not have lifts, according to the report.
The installation of the lift, which can carry five people, began last November.
It was attached to the outside of the building.
