In Beijing, 2 wheels are only a smartphone away

Beijing

STEPPING off a stylish, compact, orange-and-silver bicycle on the sidewalk outside her Beijing office, Cao Dachui kicked down its metal stand and locked the back wheel. Her half-mile ride from a nearby subway station cost just 14 cents, and she could leave the bike anywhere.

"It's so very convenient," Ms Cao, 27, said as buses and cars roared by, disgorging the stink of petrol exhaust. Walking to the advertising agency would have taken twice as long. "Life has really gotten easier," she said. Her friend Ma Zheng, 23, who was parking his own shared bike, nodded.