Talking Travel: Free Sharebike Rides, All Transit QR Codes in One App, and Wuhan Now a Top Destination

Talking Travel: Your semi-regular roundup of Beijing's latest transportation-related news.

Three sharebike companies offer free rush-hour rides through May

Meituan, Hello Bikes, and Qingju Bikes are currently offering all Beijing users free rides under 30 minutes during peak commuting hours in order to encourage a quarantine-weary population to get outside and break a sweat.

Every day until May 31, from the hours of 7-9am and 5-7pm, users will simply need to scan the QR code on the bike with the relevant app to unlock it, then as long as the user relocks the bike within half an hour, no charge will be incurred.

Incidentally, the free rides were commissioned by the Beijing Traffic Management Department, with a representative of the commission telling Beijing News that more than 600,000 people are expected to take advantage of the deal.

Beijing public transit merges QR code scanning apps

While many Beijingers simply swipe their phones in place of a subway card, those whose phones lacked NFC capability or couldn't be bothered to carry around a physical card had, until now, needed to use two separate QR code apps for the city’s subway and busses. However, that's all changed thanks to the integration of the train and bus transport app.

One downside: the official Beijing Yikatong (北京一卡通) app annoyingly does not allow this service to users who do not hold an official Chinese ID number. Thankfully, foreigners can still use the service via the Yitongxing (亿通行) or the Beijing Jiaotong (北京交通) apps.

China’s airport to implement luggage tracking

For most of us, traveling outside of China is pretty much off the table. Fortunately, domestic travel just got a bit nicer with a new luggage tracking system that will be implemented at six major airports, including Beijing Capital International Airport and Daxing Airport. (Unfortunately, we can’t promise that your actual experience at the airports will be any nicer.)

Passengers on several routes are already able to track their luggage’s status in real-time using their airline’s mobile app, and the system will continue to be expanded to include more routes through 2021, according to China Travel News.

In other airport news, air travelers should be aware that they might be spending more time waiting for connections. Analysis by OAG estimates that as safety measures taken by airlines force extended minimum connection times of two hours, international connectivity will likely be reduced by up to 20 percent.

An unlikely travel hotspot: Wuhan

This week, the Chinese Tourism Academy of Beijing discovered some rather surprising news: Wuhan now surpasses the capital as the top destination among Chinese travelers – a finding that would have been unthinkable just a couple of months ago.

Researchers at the academy hypothesize that travelers are motivated by benevolence rather than sightseeing, knowing that their tourist money will help reignite the economy in the downtrodden Hubei region.

Despite the recent discovery of several asymptomatic cases, Wuhan is no longer the risky visit it once was, and cheap accommodation makes the city an even more attractive destination. Seeing as how we're still subject to a litany of restrictions in Beijing though, we wouldn't suggest booking a long weekend down south just yet.

READ: Requirement for All Scooter Riders to Wear Helmets as of Jun 1 Deemed Fake News

Images: China Daily, QQ, Woaidabeijing