Nearly 2 million shared bikes are now clogging up China’s capital

For a while, shared bikes were all the rage in China. At the height of the bike-sharing boom in 2016, there were believed to be some 60 startups all trying to fill up street corners with bikes.

The idea is to make it as easy as possible for users to find a bike anywhere at any time, and allow them to quickly ride off after scanning a QR code using a smartphone app. The reality is that bikes that can be found anywhere are leading to clogged sidewalks and massive thefts.

This week, we found out just exactly how many shared bikes are choking up the Chinese capital. According to Beijing’s transport authorities, the number is 1.91 million. That’s one bike for every 11 permanent residents in Beijing. What’s more, fewer than half of these bikes were actively in use as of April. In other words, there are more than 955,000 “zombie” bikes lying around the city like trash.

China’s four largest cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou -- have already banned companies from adding new shared bikes. Under a new campaign, Beijing is asking bike sharing firms to collect damaged or abandoned bikes in public areas. Companies are also ordered to clean up bikes that are blocking roads, sidewalks and green areas.