Toward pleasurable, responsible cycling

In the past few weeks, I've installed as many as four bike-sharing apps on my mobile phone, and used two services so far. A few "dos and don'ts" for bike-sharing service providers would be in order:

First, dos:

Explore cooperation, harness synergy - so users and society at large can benefit. Be proactive and collaborate with city/town authorities to organize fun activities like "Bicycles Only Day" (preferably on a Saturday or Sunday) when thoroughfares and arteries will become the exclusive domain of bike riders. No cars or buses; no emissions for a day.

Also, bike-sharing companies could jointly organize early morning events such as long rides through interesting or picturesque but little known stretches within city limits or on the outskirts, so that more people get an opportunity to appreciate their city, nature, environment; meet new people and socialize; and also burn calories in a pleasurable way.

A variant could be to identify needy villages, and get city folk to ride bicycles all the way to render social services (such as helping to clean up the village, construct a community shed, or hand over clothes, food items, medicine, cash and so on).

Introduce more varieties of bikes: Already, some have done this, but there is scope to do more. For example, tandem could make riding fun for couples, colleagues or friends traveling together, families and so on.

Spread awareness among consumers about responsible biking - how to use the bike, how and where to park, bike-sharing etiquette (ensure the bicycle is clean and fit for use by the next customer).

Launch a drive to clear parking lots of abandoned bicycles. Repair/refurbish those that could still be used. Use them for "hire one, ride one free" scheme, where a registered user could hire a regular bicycle and offer a free ride on the refurbished one for a companion.

Ensure bikes are serviced regularly so that each and every ride is smooth and risk-free. Explore if depositing shared bikes in office and residential parking lots after use could actually help clear busy sidewalks and add to users' convenience.

Now, don'ts:

Don't make online registration drawn-out and complex. Simplify. Even tourists should be able to quickly register and use. Don't continue the single-language practice; make apps multilingual.

Don't spam users with frequent and gimmicky SMS texts about free-ride days and cash prizes. Offer language options to users, and limit SMS to only personal texts. Use the app or WeChat for promotional messages.

Don't invest too much on branding and marketing - fierce competition is bad for a business with social/societal implications in a sharing economy. Use financial resources to expand or improve the service instead.

Don't let weekend hot spots (like Sanlitun sidewalks in Beijing) degenerate into chaos due to mindless parking of thousands of bikes in heaps here, there and everywhere.

Don't misuse your app to gain unauthorized access to the personal data of users and other apps on their mobiles. Don't mess with storage and functions of their devices in the name of frequent upgrades/updates. And don't delay claim settlements.

Contact the writer at siva@chinadaily.com.cn