Benefits of sharing economy must not be exaggerated

Editor's note: The cost of using a sharing bicycle for the first 30 minutes has increased from about 1 yuan ($0.15) to 1.5 yuan from this month in most cities in China. China Daily reporter Li Yang comments:

Although it is still not expensive, the percentage of the rise is 50 percent. For most commuters the price hike will naturally increase their transport expenditure by a large margin.

The sharing bike market is mainly controlled by three companies with the once biggest one being paralyzed by a crisis of trust. A few months ago, some of its customers suddenly requested the return of their guarantee deposits, which later prompted almost all its customers to apply for refunds of their cash pledges out of the fear that the company might go bankrupt.