THE AUTHORITIES IN SHENZHEN, South China's Guangdong province, released draft rules on bike-sharing services on Tuesday and solicited public opinions. This marks the first official attempt to manage the emerging industry. Beijing News commented on Wednesday:

The internet-driven bicycle-sharing industry has surely injected fresh momentum into the promotion of greener urban travel. Unlike traditional government-sponsored public bikes, sharing bikes can be parked anywhere that is not prohibited by the authorities, instead of at certain bike stands.

Such an innovative design not only allows users to cover short- and long-distance journeys without worrying where to return a bike, but also brings new hope to efforts to curb traffic jams in congested metropolises such Beijing and Shanghai.