China News reported on Tuesday that traffic problems in China’s cities have declined significantly in the second quarter of 2017, partly due to bike sharing.
Last year, the Scientific Research Institute under China’s Ministry of Transport and the Tsinghua-Daimler Center for Sustainable Transportation Research released a report showing traffic conditions have eased in almost 80 percent of China’s cities on year-on-year basis.
According to the report, the amount of traffic congestion in 15 cities has dropped by more than 8 percent, most notably in the cities of Tianjin, Qingdao, and Wuhan.
The amount of fuel saved through using shared bicycles in short distance travel is projected to reach 1.4 million tons in 2017, accounting for 1.1 percent of total consumption, according to the report.
Aside from bike sharing, the report has also attributed the improving traffic conditions to ride-hailing services, urban traffic network improvements, and better traffic management.
Bike sharing and ride-hailing are parts of China’s booming sharing economy, which is enabling people to share things like cars, bikes, beds, and boats directly from other people online.
