Orange Is the New Smart

By Xia Yuanyuan

Trendy bright orange bikes have sprung up around Chinas capital recently. Part of a new intelligent “rent-a-bike” service， these bikes allow more and more people to experience the joy and convenience of riding through Beijings streets and lanes.

For Liu Chao， a 28-year-old real estate worker in Beijing， riding the bike is fashionable.“It is a hi-tech product. Using and parking the bicycle is convenient and the rental is low，” said Liu. “It is a waste of money to take a taxi for a short distance， but often it is also too far to walk. This bicycle can easily solve the problem.”

The fashionable bicycle Liu spoke so highly of is part of Mobike， a bike-sharing network allowing users to grab a ride at the touch of an app. Launched in Shanghai in April， the program expanded to Beijing in September.

Mobike—a company created by a former Uber employee—not only allows app users to borrow a pair of wheels for just 1 yuan （$0.15） per half an hour， but is also happy for you to drop the bike off wherever you like in the city， rather than searching for a station， as with the government-run alternative.

The “last mile” problem， i.e. the difficulty for people to get from a transportation hub， especially railway stations or bus stops， to their final destination， is a long-standing puzzle for urban commutes. With the development of urban smart management， the problem can be solved by linking the Internet to transportation.

Station-free concept

Before finishing to work， Yu Hua， an editor in Beijing， opens the Mobike app and reserves a bike near her office. “It takes me 10 minutes to ride from my office to the nearest subway station； walking takes 20 minutes，” she said.

Each Mobike bicycle features a special chip， GPS and sensors， which make it easy to locate and record the routes it travels. Using the app， riders can easily find the bicycle nearest to them. They then scan the QR code on the bike， unlock the electronic lock and start a timer. The standard cost is 1 yuan per 30 minutes， along with a 299-yuan （$46） reimbursable security deposit. Users can pay using popular mobile payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat.

Unlike ordinary bikes， Mobike bicycles boast an aluminum body and solid tires. The bike weighs 25 kg， two times heavier than ordinary bikes. Though somewhat heavy for riders， especially women and the elderly， it can prevent sudden accidents caused by punctured tires.

But Mobikes most impressive feature is perhaps its station-free concept. In comparison with Beijings public bike rental service， which has a more complicated registration process and requires bikes to be returned to stations at specific locations， Mobike takes full advantage of its advanced geo-location technology. Users can pick up and drop off the bikes in any public area of the city. “Mobike bikes are not sitespecific. It is fun to search for the bike using the app， like a hide and seek game，” Yu said.

Mobike has only 3，000 bikes in Beijing， but the company said it is increasing the number. The company has more than 10，000 bikes in Shanghai， allowing most riders to find a bike within a distance of 300 meters anywhere in the city.

Intelligent transportation

“The rental price of Mobike is half that of a ride on a Shanghai bus， and one third of the subway starting fare，” said Wang Xiaofeng， CEO of Beijing Mobike Technology Co. Ltd. Mobike is a typical example of the sharing economy， as citizens can enjoy lower costs by sharing bikes. “Mobike aims to make every citizens short commute more convenient at a price ev- eryone can afford，” said Wang. The “easy pickup and easy drop-off” model has maximized the bikes efficiency.

In the long term， the importance of Mobike lies not only in sharing， but also in its environment protection effects. As the global awareness of environmental protection is increasing， citizens in Chinese cities prefer to use environment-friendly travel methods. Mobike provides people with a convenient， comfortable， low-cost and green way to move about the city. It is in harmony with the governments promotion of clean technologies， like electric cars and other green vehicles.

The popularity of Mobike is also an epitome of the rise of Internet plus transportation in China. Cities are using the Internet plus format to solve problems in public transportation. With the development of the big data industry and cloud computing， the Internet allows citizens to reap the benefits of intelligent transportation.

Like Mobike， more and more platforms are being set up to help citizens， communities and regulators promote intelligent transportation， reduce congestion and pollution and build more mobile and smart cities for Chinese people. Some applications focus on booking bus commuting services （Didi Bus）； some help locate buses in real time and estimate their arrival time （Woxing Xuntong）； others help users find parking slots （Easy Parking） and organize car-pooling （Dida）. “Internet plus will be plugged into the whole transportation system，” said Cheng Wei， CEO of Didi Chuxing， Chinas dominant taxi app company.

This move toward intelligent transportation is being firmly supported by the Chinese Government. “The government encourages things that make commuting more convenient for our residents. We are looking forward to the change from offline to online，” said Sun Jianping， former director of Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission.

In August， the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Transport jointly started a program aimed at facilitating the development of intelligent transportation through Internet plus. Twenty-seven new projects will be carried out to promote in-depth integration of transportation and the Internet.