China's Shenzhen regulates bike sharing service

Shenzhen has issued a document outlining advice and regulations to help the city's booming, yet chaotic, bike-sharing market.

There are seven bike-sharing companies operating in Shenzhen, which manage around 520,000 bikes that had been used by over 9 million users by the end of March. Up to 2.5 million trips are taken every day on average.

According to the regulations, bike-sharing companies should have designated bank accounts to hold deposits. They should ensure their users' data is safe and secure.

Should a company want to cease operation, it must make the decision public at least 20 days before it intends to close, and refund all deposits and account balance to its users, the document added.

The document suggested that the city government should support the healthy development of the market and provide infrastructure support. Furthermore, the number of share bikes should not exceed the city's occupancy and load capacity.

Companies must also share information with local traffic management and police departments on the number of registered users, the number of bikes on the road and their distribution and how frequently they are used. Endi