How Many Bikes Is Too Many?

China's streets have been filled with shared bikes offered by new app services in the last few months. But the authorities and app firms need to think carefully about how many bikes are actually needed, or the industry is going to have problems, said a commentator. 

The Ministry of Transport has no current plans to control the number of bikes, but encourages cities to devise management methods of their own based on local conditions, Cui Jianjie, who directs the Department of Transport Services at the ministry, stated. 

But commentator Chen Mo, in an article at pl.ifeng.com, argued that while the lack of limits is a boon for the industry, sooner or later it's going to have to think about how many bikes is enough. It's a question that can't be left to market forces alone, Chen argued.

Some have argued that the industry doesn't need supervision because the bikes are just being rented, like they would be sold by a bike shop normally, and so users should be responsible for them. But Chen pointed out that the 'sharing' business is still a rental service, the bikes are still owned by the companies, and so the responsibility falls on them. Bikes for sale are confined to private stores, bikes for rent take up public space as soon as they're put into use.

If the numbers aren't curbed, the problems caused by cluttering roads and messing up parking spaces will only get worse, Chen said. If the government doesn't step in, the roads will be jammed with bikes.