Baotou became the first city in Inner Mongolia to introduce a bike sharing service with a total of 150 shared bicycles placed in its Shiguai district, reports Baotou Daily.

The service, co-developed by Shiguai district and Inner Mongolia Ziyi Mingze Technology Co, can be accessed via WeChat. Residents can scan the QR code on each bike using the WeChat app and the bike will be unlocked using Bluetooth technology.

The bikes will be equipped with a GPRS tracking service to track routes and calculate fees.

Shiguai district of Baotou introduces a bike sharing service in collaboration with Inner Mongolia Ziyi Mingze Technology Co on April 28. [Photo/Baotou Daily]

Du Lipeng, an official from Ziyi Mingze Technology Co, claimed that big data technology will allow 100,000 visitors to access the bike sharing platform at the same time. Du also said that the platform will record users’ riding history and rate users accordingly. Users who violate regulations will be banned from using the service.

According to Zheng Limin, a top official in Shiguai district, the bike sharing service will be expanded to reach all parts of Baotou city, as well as banners and counties that are under Baotou’s administration.

Bike sharing services have seen experiencing a boom in China with leading companies like Ofo and Mobike introducing shared bikes to first and second-tier Chinese cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. The craze for bike sharing has quickly spread to other parts of the country, mostly to third-tier cities. The bike services have become a popular ecofriendly mode of transport.

The bikes are marked with the Chinese characters Zhihui Shiguai (Smart Shiguai) on the body. [Photo/Baotou Evening News]

A Shiguai resident rides a shared bike, April 28. [Photo/Baotou Evening News]