The system is designed to accept shared bikes from different operators. (Chinanews.com/Wang Peng)

A new smart underground parking system for shared bikes is winning applause from citizens in Chengdu, southwestern China’s Sichuan province, as it offers more convenience and space for urban management.

The parking system works like an elevator, that sends shared bikes to be stored in a basement. It is the first system of its kind adopted in China, and has already been operating in Chengdu for four months.

“This product is designed to find a solution to improper parking of shared bikes and improve the space utilization of cities,” said Xie Haiping, chairman of the board of a Tianjin based tech firm, the developer of this innovative system.

A citizen returns a bike. (Chinanews.com/Wang Peng)

Since it went into use in December 2018, over 35,000 people have used the system.

The basement is a large reinforced concrete barrel that can store up to 224 bikes, but it only occupies an area of 6 square meters. It only takes 5 to 12 seconds to park a bike and 8 to 15 to get one.

“Now I use the system every day, and I’ll never park a bike in an improper location again,” said a female resident surnamed Zhang Yanjiao.

Chengdu citizen Wang Xiefei noted that the system lifted the image of the city, saying the smart services are also able to identify bike malfunctions.

However, the smart system has not yet been adopted in other cities. Xie noted that the system would be introduced to multiple big cities by October this year, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ji’nan and Xi’an.