Cycling in China

_{photo by Tripper 54}

Cycling in Beijing

There was a time when Beijing was the unofficial cycling capital of the world. The humble bike was the ideal mode of transport for the Chinese worker and Communist boss alike. The bike probably fitted in nicel with Maoist proletarian ideas. But, more than that, the bike was just a practical and cheap mode of transport for a relatively poor country.

_{Photo by: Bildungsr}

However, with unprecedented economic growth, the bike is rapidly falling out of favour as people seek to gain the ultimate middle class status symbol the motor car. it is estimated that nearly 1,000 new motor cars hit the roads of Beijing every month. It was one of the most rapid rise of the motor car in any city. The move to the car creates its own momentum. As more cars are on the road, it becomes less attractive and more dangerous to cycle. The rise in pollution from all the cars is also causing breathing difficulties.

Here in the West, the bike is gaining a certain ‘coolness’ factor as people rebel against congestion and pollution. But,  China is a bit like Britain in the 1960s, when the car was hailed as the new model form of transport.

It is a classic example of market failure. The huge rise in car ownership is creating:

• gridlock on the roads
• unbearable pollution for those wishing to take part in exercise.
• Is causing a large rise in demand for oil by China
• Contributing to global warming and since China is such a populous country over 1.5 billion any change in activity in China has a more than proportionate effect on the global environment.

The economists’ solution would be to tax cars for the external costs they create and subsidies for cycling.

_{Beijing Bike – Elpatojo}

There will probably come a time when the Chinese grow tired of sitting in traffic jams and suffering from the unbearable air pollution. There may be a nostalgia for the bike, and the bike will become seen as a ‘cool’ form of transport. But, by then the roads will be dominated by cars and bikes will be increasingly marginalised. It will be difficult to reverse the trend – for whatever people say, when they have got used to driving they don’t like to give up their privilege.