Hangzhou created China’s first bike sharing programme, which is also now the world’s largest.

The Hangzhou bike-sharing system has 60,600 bikes operating from 2,700 stations, which can be found every 100 meters. Users can ride for free for the first hour, followed by 1 yuan ($0.16) for the second hour, 2 yuan ($0.33) for the third hour, and 3 yuan ($0.49) for each additional hour. First-time users pay a 200-yuan ($32.50) deposit to obtain a smart card for bike-sharing use. Smart-card technology facilitates automated check-in and check-out at bicycle docking stations. Hangzhou Public Bicycle plans to expand to 175,000 bikes by 2020. It is estimated that three bikes are hired every second in Hangzhou.

Why you should care

The Hangzhou Public Transport Corporation launched the bike-sharing system in 2008, in response to growing traffic congestion and air pollution. A March 2010 survey of Hangzhou Public Bicycle members and non-members found that 30% of bike-share users incorporated bike-sharing into their commute. The survey also found that the bike-sharing system captured modal share from bus transit, walking, cars, and taxis.

How the Global Goals are addressed

Good health and well-being
Cycling helps to reduce levels of obesity and reducing the amount of road traffic helps to improve air quality for all city residents.

Sustainable Cities and Communities
As the largest bike sharing programme in the world, Hangzhou is serious about creating sustainable urban transport options.

Climate action
Replacing fossil-fuelled car journeys with commutes by bicycle will help to reduce the CO2 emissions in the transport sector, which will be crucial for China to meet its emissions targets.