About bicycle-sharing system
The share cycle is a mechanism to share bicycles prepared by traders and municipalities with other people so that they can use the bicycle when necessary.
Currently, it is popular in urban areas in Japan, but it is not yet popular compared to China.
How to use Bicycle-sharing system?
In most cases, if you register as a member of the company or the administration that provides the share cycle, and use membership cards for smartphone or membership card to bicycle you want to use, the bicycle will be unlocked and ready to use.
After use it will return to the designated bicycle parking lot. At this time, it is okay to return the bicycle parking lot without having to borrow the bicycle parking lot. For example, when you rent a bicycle from a designated bicycle park near the station and went to the shopping mall, you will be returned if you stop at the nearest specified bicycle parking lot of the shopping mall. This is useful.
Bicycle parking space of bicycle-sharing system
Bicycle-sharing system fee
It seems that there are many places around 150 yen in 30 minutes. It is certainly cheap because riding on a bicycle for over 30 minutes is unusual when moving for something rather than sightseeing.
Moreover, it seems that there is also a plan called "Unlimited ride" of 2000 yen per month like a commuter pass of a train. However, with a monthly fee of 2,000 yen, if you sign a contract for a half year, you will be able to buy a bicycle, so we think this is not cheap.
In that sense, the Bicycle-sharing system may be suitable for people riding a bicycle occasionally.
Overseas cases
China
China is challenging for traffic congestion in urban areas and contamination by automobile exhaust gas. The Bicycle-sharing system is one of means to solve these problems, and various companies have spread marketing services and are actually spreading. Also, in China, bicycle theft is as much as 10 times that of Japan, and it is likely that individuals are unlikely to have a bicycle, which will encourage the spread of the Bicycle-sharing system.
In China, there are various "convenience" such as "discarding" service which does not have to return the bicycle to the designated bicycle parking lot, service of searching the nearest available bicycle by smartphone, service of paying usage fee by loading QR code There are services. China is a developed country of Bicycle-sharing system.
USA
In New York City, which originally used bicycles on a daily basis, by introducing the Bicycle-sharing system, the number of people riding a bicycle further increases, leading to the improvement of people's health.
Especially, New York City's Manhattan Ward is narrow and it is also a factor of popularization that bicycles are convenient to go back and forth between home and work.
Japan case
It is deployed mainly in major cities, but it is still far from the above countries. This is due to the difficulty of obtaining the understanding of local governments and residents in the introduction of the Bicycle-sharing system (installation of parking facilities, etc.).
However, when many foreign tourists arrive at the Tokyo Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2020, bicycles with fewer differences in traffic rules for different countries, unlike cars, are the feet of tourists. As a result, the range of action of tourists will spread to places where tourists have not visited until now, economic effects are expected. Moreover, if the Bicycle-sharing system spreads to this, it will be an opportunity to spread not only economic effect but also nationwide popularization with understanding of the local government and residents' Bicycle-sharing system.
Problems
Is there a need?
As mentioned earlier, the current usage fee in Japan is 150 yen in 30 minutes, or 2000 yen per month with unlimited rides. With that, even if you subscribe for a monthly fee for half a year you can buy a bicycle. Since bicycles are rarely broken if they buy it once, in this case more people will buy a bicycle without using the Bicycle-sharing system.
Securing and withdrawing a bicycle parking space
Because it is difficult for local governments and residents to understand the Bicycle-sharing system, it is difficult to maintain the Bicycle-sharing system's bicycle parking space. Also, even if understanding can be obtained, in urban areas where Bicycle-sharing system is required, there are few places where bicycle parking spaces can be established, and accordingly, the service area of Bicycle-sharing system will be narrowed, which is unnecessary for users .
Also, as bicycles become "disposable", maintenance of the bicycle parking lot is unnecessary, so these problems may be solved. But that does not mean you can not park your bicycle anywhere, it will not be accepted by society.
Enhancement of public transportation
In the urban areas of Japan where the Bicycle-sharing system is required, public transportation facilities such as trains, subways, buses, taxis, and underpass are already in place. Under such circumstances, is Bicycle-sharing system necessary for society?
Our opinion
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Based on the first issue, we thought that if the Bicycle-sharing system became a system that pays money, it would not spread.
However, the majority of the Bicycle-sharing system providers are companies and need to pursue profits. Therefore, we thought that if the Bicycle-sharing system were "moving ads" it would be worthwhile. While walking through the city, you can see it even if you do not want to see a bike coming from the other side. This is a great effect for advertisements, we thought that Bicycle-sharing system companies can also profit from advertising revenue.
Differentiation from personal ownership
I said that if you subscribe for a monthly fee you can buy a bicycle if you sign up for half a year, but what if the electric bicycle is this. Electric bicycle is about 50,000 yen even if it is cheap, so it is hard to purchase for people who want to use it occasionally rather than everyday. So, how about using the Bicycle-sharing system bicycle as an electric bicycle? In many cases, many people think that I will pay the usage fee. Also, there is a problem that the electric bicycle has a heavy battery when it is out of charge, but if it is a Bicycle-sharing system, it can be used comfortably simply by changing the bicycle at the nearest bicycle parking.
