Legal protection for riders and providers

Riders scan ofo bikes in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The bike-hire startup is experimenting with a deposit waiver system for users in Shanghai and may extend the service to other cities in the country. [Photo/China Daily]

IN WHAT IS BELIEVED TO BE the country's first court case against a company offering a shared-bicycle service, a 31-year-old Beijing citizen is suing Ofo, one of the country's leading bike-sharing companies, as he claims that he was injured due to a faulty bike he rented two months ago, Guangzhou Daily commented on Tuesday:

The plaintiff claims that Ofo is responsible for insufficient maintenance, as he alleges the brakes on the bike he hired were faulty. He is claiming 20,000 yuan ($2,900) as compensation to cover his medical treatment, mental distress and transportation costs.

He is not the first rider to solicit compensation from bike-sharing operators in the country on the grounds that the bikes they used were not well maintained.

Albeit most claimants' requests were answered and properly dealt with by the companies concerned, a routine approach to situations like this is still missing. Accidents involving sharing bikes, which have become very popular in less than a year, will inevitably increase as more people use them. That warrants a tailored accountability mechanism when it comes to the respective responsibilities of both users and the bike-sharing service providers.

The business model of station-less bikes is designed to help urban commuters travel the "last mile" more efficiently. To protect users' legal interests, ensuring their bikes are in satisfactory condition is the least the bike providers can do.

Admittedly, big players such as Mobike and Ofo are covered by insurance and they pledge to compensate riders for any injuries incurred while using the bikes. Compensation is also available for people injured by those using the bikes.

Such efforts are praiseworthy, but not enough. They should be institutionalized and streamlined in the way insurance is compulsory for all vehicles.

Bike-sharing service providers, too, need legal protection because they are at risk of being blackmailed by unscrupulous users willing to go to great lengths to be compensated.