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In China - and not only there - the demand for rental bicycles in the cities has been completely overestimated;
then there was the competition between the providers.
The result is mountains of superfluous broken wheels that are rusting on garbage dumps - such as at the gates of the city of Shenyang.
Images from the air show the extent.
The wheels look like a fabric pattern from above
Source: AFP / STR
In the cemetery of rental bicycles near Shenyang, blue, yellow and turquoise-colored bicycles stand in long rows, and some are piled up in piles.
They bear the logos of the companies that tried to become market leaders in China: Hellobike, Didi or Meituan.
In the middle of the last decade, one company after another came into being, and investors liked to give money.
In many Chinese cities there was quickly an oversupply, the cheap bicycles to rent clogged sidewalks and disfigured parks.
Broken bikes were not collected.
Not just China - similar problem in Berlin too
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The problem with discarded rental bikes also exists in other cities around the world - they are in subway stations in Washington or are at the bottom of the Spree in Berlin.
In Germany there were protests against the massive installation, especially of the e-scooter.
Due to the Corona crisis, however, many people have switched from the subway and bus to electric scooters.
The increase in bookings could at least offset the decline in tourists.
With the provider Lime, it is believed that the trend will continue after Corona.
Real cemeteries of rental bikes like in Shenyang emerged in China from 2018 with the collapse of the supplier Ofo. The company could no longer pay its debts incurred for expansion. China's cities have announced that they will drastically limit the supply. Beijing, for example, wants to remove 44,000 rental bikes from the streets this year, according to state media. The maximum number in the metropolis should therefore remain below 800,000.