Looking for a way to cut air pollution in its capital city before it hosts the 2008 Summer Olympics, Chinese officials have hit upon a bike rental scheme that will involve 50,000 bikes.
The government recently imposed a “car reduction test” that improved the area's air quality during the Good Luck Beijing games, a preview of next year's Olympics. The IOC has said that endurance sports, like cycling, could be postponed on days with high pollution levels during the Summer Games.
The city has been running a test bike rental program at 31 locations. The full program will involved 200 stations located throughout the city, according to ChinaDaily.
Leading bike maker
People will pay $13 a year to participate in the program; there's also a $50 refundable deposit on bikes used.
Finding that many bicycles in China shouldn't be difficult, as it's probably the world's leading producer of bicycles. And bicycle ownership in the capital is already high; in 2003, the Chinese capital had 10 million registered bicycles.
Pollution
China is worried that its air pollution problems could give it a black eye during the Olympics. Car ownership in Beijing has doubled to more than 2.5 million in the past five years, according to the Guardian Unlimited, and the region has one of the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide in the world.
Paris launched its own bike rental program in July using 10,000 bicycles; it resulted in 45,000 bicycle trips a day by the end of the first week.
Recent Comments