Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, is planning to upgrade its public rental bicycles from strictly pedal power to electric hybrids.

The first batch of 5,000 hybrid bikes will be rolled out in three months, offering a faster option for bike riders, said Wu Guoxiong, deputy manager of Hangzhou Public Bicycle Traffic Service Development Co.

Hangzhou has 85,800 bikes for public rental, including 56,300 from Wu's company.

"We plan to replace all our regular bikes with smart bicycles by the end of next year," he said.

Traditional bikes have limitations, he said. "According to our data, people will ride 33 minutes for about 3 kilometers, on average, for each use. They will feel uncomfortable or tired when the time or distance exceeds that."

The new bikes will give people another choice. By inserting a portable battery, the human powered bicycle easily converts to electricity, so riders can extend their riding distance to 10 km and raise the maximum speed to 15 kilometers per hour, he said.

The State-owned company came up its plan for a bi-functional bicycle two years ago to meet the needs of residents whose jobs are 7 to 8 km from home. The plan and model were discussed and revised many times until it was agreed that the new shared bikes would have a removable battery.

People can choose to either rent a bicycle, or rent a bike and a portable battery as a package. The battery port is beneath the bike's front basket, along with an LED headlight, integrated power supply and control module.