From bikes to cars to bikes in a generation

Wang Yong, owner and president of Bicycle Rental, one of the largest firms in the business, said, “For now, it remains just that — a plan. The government has not announced any concrete measures to help rental firms.” Wang's company has 54 manned rental racks across Beijing, with 8,000 bikes.

Where bicycle rental has worked in other big foreign cities, it is invariably government-funded. The famous Velib scheme in Paris — often praised in the Chinese media — is funded by French taxpayers. It dots the French capital with rental racks, placing them every 300m apart. And the first 30 minutes of every ride is rent-free.

In China, the most successful bike rental scheme so far seems to be that in the eastern city of Hangzhou — which has a population of eight million. But it has also cost the local government a steep 100 million yuan. The city now has 1,000 rental points offering 50,000 bicycles.

In Zhengzhou, capital of the central province of Henan, the government stayed out of the business. But two major private operators that set up shop in early 2008 with a combined fleet of 1,000 bikes folded later that year.

Operators in Beijing say the government needs to put its money where its mouth is. Since 2005, a handful of rental firms have emerged in Beijing , but most are struggling to keep afloat.

Major player Bicycle Rental says it has 3,000 customers signed up to its 100-yuan-a-year scheme, but that is not enough to cover costs.

Wang Shuwei, the marketing manager of Bird of Freedom, said losses have already forced his company to more than halve the 400 bikes and 18 booths it had when it started four years ago.

For the government's blueprint to take off, he said, it could at least waive the rent operators pay for their booths, each of which can cost more than 1,000 yuan a month.

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