In China's bigger cities, the rivers of bicycles—once one of the most vivid images of urban China—have been replaced with streets jammed with cars, most of them, terrifyingly, are in the hands of novice drivers. By banning or severely restricting motorcycle use in these cities, China has leapfrogged the development pattern of its Asian neighbors, where the motorbike has usually provided the newly affluent with their first taste of effortless mobility. Shanghai, home to about 9 million ordinary bikes, aroused a flurry of media criticism last year by banning them from main roads in the center. But they are less and less used these days.
