Free loan-bike program loses one a day to thieves, abuse

Free bicycles made available for subway commuters in Shanghai are disappearing at the rate of one a day.

The city's southwestern Minhang district began lending bikes to metro passengers in 2009 and had an initial stock of 19,000 at 574 sites.

Since then, however, nearly 1,000 have been lost or stolen, according to Wan Huqing, director of the traffic administration of Minhang's construction and transport commission.