Lessons of Hangzhou's bike rental system

Among the many thoughtful services Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, will offer during the G20 Leaders' Summit on Sept 4-5, the improved bicycle rental service is a cherry on the top.

Among the 38,000 bicycles, about 10,000 new ones emblazoned with the G20 logo have reportedly been put into service at many bicycle stands around the city to provide "a safer and more comfortable cycling experience" for visitors. Aside from the new bicycle stands made of stainless steel and aluminum baskets, Hangzhou will also add an exclusive QR code to every bike on offer at 100 service points. This will allow borrowers to get a bike simply by scanning it. And some bike stands near hotels and meeting venues will be equipped with bilingual notices and an English audio system.

Efforts like these are not part of some vanity projects just for the G20 summit. The bicycle rental service has become an essential part of Hangzhou residents' daily life over the past eight years. Since it began trial operations in 2008, at least 84,100 bicycles have been rented about 665 million times, and a public bicycle can be used up to 37 times a day.