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Back to the bicycle days

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-06 07:30

The Olympic Games provides an opportunity for promoting bicycle-riding among residents, says an article in Beijing News. The following is an excerpt:

Recently, the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications and several other departments jointly authorized 20 new bicycle rental stations, and thus increasing the number of such stations to 76 with more than 7,000 bicycles available for renting.

The whole new thing of public bicycles is expected to bring a change to local people's lifestyle. On the one hand, transportation convenience is achieved, energy saved and environment cleaned; on the other hand, space shortage caused by stocking millions of private bicycles is eased.

Bicycles have become popular again after the city ordered some 3 million car owners in the city to drive on alternative days as part of the efforts to reduce pollutant emission and ease traffic pressure. It is pretty good that Olympics runs with bicycles.

In fact, many far-sighted governments in the world have been endeavoring to promote the usage of bicycles to replace other energy-consuming transport means.

Take Sweden as an example. It has set a 20-year plan, which includes investing 500 million Swedish krona ($82 million) every year for carrying out pro-bicycle traffic measures or regulations, increasing funding for 30 medium-sized cities to construct bicycle lanes.

Going to work by riding or on foot has become a fashion in some Western cities, and supports by Beijing's relevant authorities may also push forward the city's green cause. We here suggest that a special website be created for public bicycles and for employing repairers to stand by and move to fix on-road glitches in time.

Millions of riders were once one of the country's bright scenes, but today, to persuade wealthier private car owners to ride again for the sake of a healthier and environment-friendly life needs support from the government both in policy-making and funding.

(China Daily 08/06/2008 page8)