Shanghai lawmakers: Put the brakes on illegal bike parking

Legislators and political advisers in Shanghai have urged the government, bike-sharing startups, and cyclists to jointly solve the problem of illegal parking of hired bikes as the problem grows throughout the city.

Conflicts over parking has occurred in several cities. The latest one occured on Jan 15 in Shenzhen, where around 500 hired bikes were piled up by security guards at a community where residents were angry about the cyclists' illegal parking.

"Bike-sharing operators should take the initiative to discuss with local government authorities where the bikes can be parked and where they can't. Moreover, users must register with real names when using the bikes and those who violate parking regulations must be punished," Wang Rulu, a member of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said on Jan 15 during the annual sessions of the city's legislative and political advisory bodies.