Rent-a-bike scheme gets more inclusive

The city's new bike rental service, currently available only to those with a Beijing hukou (household registration), will be extended to those with an ID from outside the city by October.

However, foreigners will still be excluded from the service for the foreseeable future.

"The migrant population was always one of the target groups of the service," said Chen Zhehua, media officer with Beijing Yanhongzhou bike management center, one of the two operators of the service, while speaking on a radio program Tuesday.

"Because we don't have enough bikes and rental cards during the pilot phase, we had to delay extending the service," Chen said.

Cheng Ying, a staff member from Yanhongzhou confirmed that those with a non-Beijing hukou will be able to rent a bike.　

"They just go to a designated spot to register with a second generation ID card and a local transportation smart card," she said, adding that foreigners are still unable to register.

"But in future, the system will be developed with more functions," Cheng said.

At present, there are 2,000 bikes available for hire across 63 rental spots in Dongcheng and Chaoyang districts.

According to the Beijing News, by Monday afternoon, bike hire locations in the two districts had issued more than 1,000 rental cards.

He Ning, a postgraduate at a university in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, said he is pleased he will be able to use the scheme.

"I need to come to Beijing for academic purposes nearly every month," he said.　

"The policy is environmentally friendly, and it will liberate me from inconvenience caused by having to use buses when I exit the subway," said He.

There will be over 300 rental locations with 10,000 bikes by October, Jiao Tongmin, from Beijing transportation administration, told the Beijing Times.