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According to the Hefei Transportation Bureau, 20,000 public bicycles are planned to be put into 1000 rental spots, and 5000 of them should be available by the end of 2014. Hefei's citizens might be able to enjoy using public bicycles before the National Day.
The system will not be launched district by district; instead, it is subject to unified planning in order to promote a holistic traffic system throughout Hefei city. The Hefei Transportation Bureau is planning to integrate the public bicycle system with other means of transportation to solve the "last-mile transportation" problem for its citizens. At the latest, an initial public bicycle rental network with 20,000 bikes will be in place before next year, and more bikes and rental spots might be put into use if there is a demand in the future.
The system has already been carried out in many cities. Hefei therefore has many examples to learn from. A comprehensive plan concerning rental spots and service standards has not yet been decided; but it is already clear that there will be public bidding to decide on which company will be in charge of the development of the system and the purchase and maintenance of the bikes.
It is not yet clear, but it is highly possible that the bikes will be free to use only within a certain period of time to enhance the efficiency of the system.
A large number of questions remain to be decided, but it is certain that the city will adopt a unified system, and apart from local citizens, tourists and short term residents might also be able to enjoy the service.
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