(Yicai Global) March 20 -- China's transport ministry is seeking public feedback on proposed measures to stop companies that provide car-hailing, car-sharing and bike-sharing services from levying deposits, or if they do, to return the security to customers on the day they request it back.

These rules will be introduced under new measures the Ministry of Transport issued yesterday to solicit public comments. 

Operators must provide users with two payment alternatives, the operator's special escrow account and the user's personal one, based on an agreement, per the measures. Operators must also not embezzle security deposits, which belong to users.

The rules also set upper limits on these bonds. One must be no more than 2 percent of the average cost of each vehicle for car-sharing and no more than 10 percent for online bike-sharing. 

The standards also stipulate the amount users prepay. The total must match service capacity and no charges in excess are allowed, per the measures.

The prepaid amount in each user account must not exceed CNY100 (USD15) for web-based bike-sharing and CNY8,000 (USD1,192) for other business forms.

Operators can only use these funds for their main businesses, not for investment in real estate, securities, bonds and loans, the measures specify.

A deposit must be returned to the user's account through which s/he paid it on the same day of the application or at the latest the next day after the depository bank or other payment service agency completes verification, the measures mandate.

A security deposit is money a user pays to ensure his/her actions do not harm the operator's interests.

Prepaid funds mean a user opens a personal account at the operator's institution and deposits money in it before use.

Editor: Ben Armour