BEIJING was once the bicycle capital of the world. But then China’s economy swelled, people acquired more money and status, which lead to fewer cyclists and an uptick in flashy cars on the country’s highways and roads
The city’s pedal-power title went to eco-savvy Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands.
China’s modes of transport are vast. The main cities have super-modern high-speed rail. According to the World Bank the rail network is expanding at a dizzying speed and it will span more than 30 000km in the next 3 years
Elevated 10-lane highways and roads teem with expensive cars, electric-powered and diesel buses, trams, sedan taxis, ubiquitous three-wheeled tin motor scooters or tuk-tuks and smog-belching
jalopies.
Trying to hail a taxi in Beijing in five minutes is near impossible and a frustrating exercise. The task is as inconceivable as a Metrorail train, back home, arriving on time,
China has one of the world’s largest transport markets.
More than 150 million Chinese hail taxis using their smartphones, according to analysts. Car-hailing apps were only legalised here last year. These include Uber or Youbu, in Chinese, and Didi Chuxing, which are the dominant players vying for this lucrative market
Professor Huang Weiping of the School of Economics at Renmin University of China, said: “In the 80s ,there were bicycles everywhere. Now there are cars everywhere.
"Every fourth family in China owns a vehicle. This means there are 100 million cars on our roads. We are huge gas (fuel) consumers. More than 60% of our crude oil is imported.”
He said as the Chinese grew wealthier, tourism in the country expanded and so did the number of airports - there are 229. In the past decade the government built 74 airports
Another airport is due to be completed this year as the government nears its target of 82 new civil airports, with an estimated 80% of China’s population living less than 100km away from an airport
Weiping warned all this development had come at a price to the environment. In Beijing, there were 280 days of blue skies.
“The rest of the year is smoggy. This is a serious problem.”
But the Chinese have realised their need to radically reduce their carbon footprint. So bicycles are back in vogue.
Barons from Shanghai set up Mobike, an enormous fleet of bicycles stationed across Beijing which can be hired for R2 per half-hour. The bicycle-sharing company hopes to “reduce traffic congestion and create a greener environment”.
It’s as easy as downloading the app, signing up and buying credit. Type in your location and it tells you where the nearest bicycle station is. You scan your cellphone over a QR code on the bicycle to unlock it. Use the bike for as long as you need, then park it as the nearest Mobike station
The country’s electric-car market is already the world’s biggest and the government has introduced a policy to continue its expansion. It has also launched the world’s first hydrogen-powered tram, in a continued push for clean energy
Weiping neatly summed up all this innovation.
“We Chinese love something new. Who knows, maybe flying cars are on the horizon.”
* Melanie Peters is the live editor of Weekend Argus. She is on a 10-month scholarship with the China Africa Press Centre. Instagram: mels_chines_takeout