Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bike Sharing

Dockless Bike-Share Is Leading a Stunning Cycling Comeback in China

9:48 AM EST on January 30, 2018

Dockless bike-share is changing how people get around in Chinese cities. Graphic: Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Innovation Institute

Maybe bikes will save the planet after all.

According to a report from the Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Innovation Institute, helpfully relayed from the original Chinese by Carlton Reid at BikeBiz, cycling rates have doubled in Chinese cities since the advent of dockless bike-share systems.

There are now about 16 million dockless bike-share bikes in circulation around China, with each used for an average of three trips per day, according to the British Medical Journal.

China already had a strong cultural tradition of bicycling for transportation. Until recently, cycling was the dominant urban transportation mode, and most people are old enough to remember streets full of bike traffic.

After losing ground to motor vehicles for several years, bicycling in China is clawing back mode share thanks to the dockless bike-share boom. In Shenzhen, the bike-share fleet of 500,000 has replaced "nearly 10 percent of travel by private car," Reid reports.

Buoyed by billions of dollars in venture capital, the companies are blanketing urban territory with their product. While Chinese cities are still figuring out how to deal with the clutter of dockless bike-share and the immense "bicycle graveyards" that pile up, the ubiquity of the new bike-share technology is also one of its distinct advantages.

The bikes are useful because they're everywhere, with fleets that dwarf even the largest that American cities have to offer. They're also affordable, with each trip costing as little as 30 cents. It remains to be seen whether the business model of cheap bikes at low prices is sustainable in the long run, but for now it's clearly having a major effect on the urban transportation systems of the largest nation on Earth.

We're also still learning how well the dockless bike-share model translates to American cities, where car culture is much more deeply ingrained and bike infrastructure remains patchy and sparse.

Here, the city that's farthest along with dockless systems is Seattle, where the city permitted more than 9,000 of the bikes after its earlier attempt at a station-based system fizzled. Usage of the dockless bikes quickly eclipsed Seattle's old system, but the number of trips per bike per day has fallen recently, and remains well below the figure for New York's Citi Bike.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

To Help Save the Planet, Take the ‘Week Without Driving’ Challenge

Former Sierra Club President Ramón Cruz is urging Americans to give up driving for seven days — and support policies to make it optional for everyone.

September 29, 2023

Labor Gains: NYC Judge Tosses App Giants’ Suit to Stop Deliverista Minimum Wage

Justice Nicholas Moyne cleared the way for a long-delayed wage hike for workers who brave dangerous roads to bring food directly to New Yorkers.

September 29, 2023

Friday’s Headlines Are Charged Up

Expect a lot fewer ordinary gas stations and a few more Buc-ee's in your area as the electric vehicle transition continues.

September 29, 2023

Commentary: Let’s Talk About the Real “Fatal Flaw” on Valencia

How many people have to die before professional advocates stop endorsing the Valencia Street "experiment" on people?

September 28, 2023

Talking Headways Podcast: Beyond Greenways

This week we’re joined by Bob Searns to talk about his new book and grand ideas for walking trails that circle whole regions and more local routes that make up a new mode of green infrastructure in cities.

September 28, 2023
See all posts