To celebrate the 10 millionth user of its YouBike public bicycle rental scheme, the Taipei City Government yesterday said it will launch a courtesy campaign next week to promote the rights of pedestrians amid growing complaints from walkers about the cyclists.
The YouBike scheme has seen its usage reach 9.5 million, with the 10 millionth user expected sometime this week, the city’s Department of Transportation said.
The bicycle rental system’s operator, Giant Bicycle Co, joined with the department in inviting the public to participate in the courtesy campaign, which will start on Thursday next week and last for two months.
The campaign calls on YouBike users to get off their bikes in arcades and crowded places and to pass pedestrians slowly. It also urges people to wait in line when renting or returning the bicycles.
Giant YouBike spokesperson Vicky Liu (劉麗珠) said public bicycles are allowed on some sidewalks with bicycle lanes, but added that bicycle users should still respect the rights of pedestrians.
“There have been a lot of complaints about YouBike users ringing their bells on sidewalks, assuming that all pedestrians should yield to them. That’s not what we want to see. YouBike is supposed to be a good public transportation tool, not something that causes danger or harassment to pedestrians,” she said.
Department Commissioner Wang Sheng-wei (王聲威) said that the department expects the campaign to remind YouBike users to show consideration to others when using the public rental bicycles.
As part of the campaign, users are invited to visit YouBike’s Facebook page and join a lucky draw starting on Thursday next week.
The city is giving away 10 iPad Minis among other presents.
The YouBike scheme has 116,000 registered users and the number of daily rentals has reached 30,000 to 40,000 on weekdays and 50,000 on weekends.
For more information on the public bicycle scheme, visit the official Web site at www.youbike.com.tw.
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