Those who live in Beijing but do not have a permanent residence permit (hukou) will be able to rent public bicycles in the capital this autumn, following heated disagreements over the current policy, which allows only permanent residents the privilege, Xinhua News Agency reports.

Dongcheng and Chaoyang Districts will provide public bicycle rental services to people without a Beijing hukou in October, said Chen Zhehua, an official at Yan Hongzhou, one of the public bike rental service operators.

Only residents with a Beijing hukou have been able to rent one of 2,000 bikes at more than 60 rental stations in Dongcheng and Chaoyang Districts since July 16, when a trial run of the service began. The news sparked debate and criticism online by those who disagreed with the policy and said it was unfair to those who visited or lived in Beijing but were not permanent residents, including migrant workers.

But Chen said the bike rentals were designated only for permanent residents at first because there was a limited number of bikes available during the trial run.

"We serve not only persons with a hukou but all travelers in the city, including the migrant (workers)," Chen said.

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