Tough times in the bicycle rental business

Xiao Nangying squeezed off the bus after a long working day in Hangzhou. Too exhausted to walk 20 minutes home in the dark, she borrows a bike from a rental point nearby her stop and gives it back 10 minutes later.

"I can return it at a point in front of my community," said the 26-year-old woman. "There is no worry about it being stolen and it's very convenient."

Large-scale bike rental systems add an efficient option to the transport mix in major Chinese cities, thanks to their fleets of quality bicycles accessible via smart cards and from roadside, self-service docking stations.