A BIKE-SHARING app operator in Shenzhen said that users would be blacklisted if they were found to have illegally parked twice, the Shenzhen Metropolis Daily reported.

    Since several app operators launched bicycle rental services in Shenzhen late last year, random parking of app-based bikes has become a problem raising concerns among residents and lawmakers.

    Bikes that are parked outside of public bike-parking areas or on sidewalks and greenbelts, blocking the way of pedestrians and other vehicles, will be deemed as illegally parked, according to the report.

    Several app operators have adopted punishment measures for random parking, making users pay more to rent bikes after being caught illegally parking.

    Yang Jie, head of Xiaoming Bike’s Shenzhen office, said that the company’s purpose for introducing the bike-sharing service was for the convenience of users, but it would affect road safety if users randomly parked their bikes on blind sidewalks or motor lanes.

    According to him, the company has introduced a credit system to punish users for random parking. He said that every user has 100 points on the app’s credit system, and 50 points would be deducted if a user were to be found to have parked illegally, so the user would have to pay a higher fee for renting a bike the next time.

    Yang added that users would be blacklisted if they parked illegally twice. “Currently, there are over 20 users who have had points deducted for random parking,” he said.

    Several app operators are developing new technologies for Bluetooth unlocking, which will be able to stop users from locking the bikes and paying the fees if they park the bikes in prohibited areas.

    Meanwhile, police said users who park their bikes illegally will be fined 20 yuan (US$2.90) for each violation.

    (Zhang Yang)