**Table 2.** List of Key Respondents.

<sup>1</sup> This interview was conducted by a friend of the authors in Guangzhou using the topic questions she was given. <sup>2</sup> This interview was conducted by a member of a cycling advocacy organization in Guangzhou.

#### **4. Process-Tracing: Empirical Findings**

*4.1. The Emergence and Evolution of Public Bicycle Programmes in Guangzhou*

Public bicycle programs have grown rapidly in China since the Hangzhou government (Zhejiang Province) introduced them from European cities. The public bicycle program in Hangzhou is operated by a state-owned enterprise. It received governmental investment and subsidies for both its initial construction and daily operation. It performs well, with more than 84,100 bicycles each being used for five trips per day [52].

This program has received both national and international acclaim. It is considered to be a successful case of new invitations for both sustainable transport and city branding by the government, the media, and the public. This is the fundamental reason that many cities' governments, especially those cities that enjoy similar political and economic status to Hangzhou, quickly acted to promote similar programs in their own cities. Some of them followed Hangzhou and funded state-owned companies to invest and operate the public bicycle program. Others gave policy support and/or financial support to private companies to allow them into the area. This is how market forces, especially private companies, can enter the field. Guangzhou is an interesting case for analyzing this issue, as it has various categories of public bicycle programs invested in and operated by different organizations.

The Guangzhou government's public bicycle program emerged in 2010. To prepare for the 16th Asian Games, which were held in Guangzhou in November 2010, the Guangzhou government invested in a bus rapid transit (BRT) lane. A public bicycle program also received investment from the government as supporting facilities along the BRT lane. This program mirrored Hangzhou's, and a state-owned company (Guangzhou Public Bicycle Operation Management Company, Guangzhou, China. For more details, please refer to http://www.gsxt.gov.cn/%7BDDBF08E7B59EA93546A9CFE497422B79966BA8DBF00 DD83B8CA7F51AE7DF41AEC835E003B49F5CC04D1F830EC-AB684397F82857E3765502974 73067F26935993532353235993532090E18232432350E33340F080F18231E191E25899E2DD4B D85DD6F1CC9A076104231F7CCF7E0DD5F9C008D4EB3DAA96F545354535453-1628053297 986%7D, accessed 4 August 2021) was founded as a subsidiary corporation of the Guangzhou Transport Station Construction Management Centre, which was directly controlled by the Guangzhou Transportation Commission.

On 22 June 2016, 2000 bicycles in 18 stations along the BRT lane began to operate, later expanding to approximately 5000 bicycles in more than 100 stations [53]. The fee structure is as follows: 1 h of bicycle use is free for all users; 1 to 2 h costs RMB1 (approximately USD 0.15); 2 to 3 h costs RMB2; over 3 h costs RMB3 per hour; and the maximum cost per 24 h is RMB30 (For more information, please refer to http://baike.baidu.com/view/3799544.htm, accessed 4 August 2021). Local residents can borrow bicycles using their bus or metro cards after registering and paying the deposit (RMB 300). All the bicycles, stations, and relevant facilities are funded by the government and operated by the state-owned company, which relies on a governmental subsidy for daily operation. As the main color of these bicycles is orange, the public refers to it as the "orange program" to distinguish it from other public bicycle programs. This name is also used to define this governmental program in the following analysis.

In addition to the orange program, two public bicycle programs emerged in Guangzhou in 2009 and 2010—the yellow and red programs. The yellow program was invested in and operated by a private company, the Rising Sun Company, which came into existence in 2009 and was the first public bicycle company in Guangzhou. At that time, Guangzhou Metro Group Company Limited (Guangzhou, China) planned to provide public bicycles along some metro lines, especially in some metro stations, so it outsourced the project to the Rising Sun Company. Metro Group conducted the initial investment and construction. The Rising Sun Company (Guangzhou, China) was primarily responsible for daily operation and following investments. In 2009, 2000 yellow public bicycles in 29 stations started to operate, later increasing to 4800 bicycles and 50 stations [53].

The yellow bicycles are manual rentals rather than based on smart technical cards. Thus, the fee structure is similar to that of the orange program. However, the Rising Sun Company failed and left the public bicycle market in late 2013 and 2014. Its stations and bicycles were acquired by another private company, ToRide (Guangzhou, China), which provides green public bicycles. Therefore, the yellow bicycle program changed to the green program, consisting of over 2300 bicycles and 60 stations (GZ\_04, 23 November 2015). The reasons for the Rising Sun Company's failure are explored in the next section.

The red program differs from the orange and the yellow-green programs, as it only operates in the Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Centre for university students and staff members rather than in central urban areas as the others do. It was totally invested in and operated by the Guangzhou University City Card Company Limited (Guangzhou, China) with no financial support from the government. In September 2010, 1000 red bicycles and 23 stations started to operate. The students and staff members of the universities and institutions in this area could then start using the red bicycles with their university cards. The fee structure of the red program is similar to those above. The red program, however, failed after 3 to 4 years of activity. By late 2014 and 2015, most of the red bicycles and their stations were abandoned, and in late 2015, they were replaced by the orange program, which has massively expanded all over the city since late 2015. The following

section focuses on exploring the extension of the orange program and the failure of both the yellow-green and red programs.
