THE Xiaolu bike operator has applied to the Shenzhen transport commission to exit the Shenzhen market, as the number of their maintenance employees doesn’t meet the standard required by authorities.

The commission has demanded that the operator hand in detailed plans, regarding their deposits and present operation situation, before exiting Shenzhen.

Shenzhen has implemented a rule requiring bike operators to suspend the release of more bikes to control the number of app-based bikes on the city’s streets. The operators are required to cut their bike numbers if their staff-to-bike ratio is less than five employees to every 1,000 bikes.

The operators are required to standardize and unify the use of GPS-based intelligent locks. At present, most bike operators in Shenzhen use intelligent locks, as some operators like ofo and bluegogo have replaced most of their traditional locks with intelligent alternatives. According to the commission, 70,000 ofo bikes and 40,000 bluegogo bikes still use mechanical locks.

The city’s transport commission said there are about 890,000 app-based bikes in Shenzhen.

As most operators are facing a shortage of maintenance employees, the commission said it is considering setting up an app-based bike operator alliance to solve the shortage.

To solve prominent problems, such as illegal and random parking and traffic violations, related authorities will launch a citywide action and establish a long-term mechanism to improve the management and service level of app-based bike operators.

By Aug. 24, the city had reported 26 app-based bike accidents this year, which led to 11 deaths and 16 injuries. Among them, 14 accidents involved ofo bikes, leading to six deaths and eight people injured.

Shennan Road, Dongmen Road and Houhai Boulevard saw the most violations, such as the illegal use of vehicle lanes and running red lights.  (Han Ximin)