Building levies ticket to ride in its elevators

Some residents and office workers of two apartment buildings in Chaoyang district said that they are unhappy about new rules which mean they must pay to use the buildings' elevators.

The owners committee of the Great Mall on Chaoyang Lu have decided that people need a special swipe card to use the elevators, and introduced the measure on Tuesday. Currently, four out of eight elevators have the new equipment installed.

The move is intended to push out businesses to make the building for residential use only, said the owners committee.

There are two different cards for residents or staff of businesses.

"Blue cards allow residents to use the elevator 600 times in three months. You need to pay if you use it more," said Hu Xiaofang, the director of the committee.

Each residential unit has been sent four blue cards. But office workers must pay a 50-yuan ($8) deposit to get a yellow card and pay 0.3 yuan every time they take the elevator, said Hu.

Both office workers and residents are unhappy with the elevator restrictions.

An employee from a private company surnamed Zhang, said that she does not welcome this rule.

"Why do we have to pay to take the elevator?" she said, noting that they have already paid a property management fee.

A resident surnamed Zheng said that he does not know what the reason is.

"If I have a guest, I'll have to go downstairs to bring him up with my card, which is very inconvenient," he said.

Hu said that property management fees are not enough for all the maintenance.

"The fee is charged at five yuan per square meter instead of per person. Many companies here have dozens or even hundreds of staff," she said.

"So the facilities like elevators are often being used too much," she said.