GUANGZHOU, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- A public hospital in southern Guangdong Province is pioneering a shared wheelchair service to patients who need walking assistance temporarily.

Eighteen shared wheelchairs have gone into operation starting this week at the Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, a leading medical center in Guangzhou that received over 3.16 million outpatients last year.

Users can download a mobile application or scan QR codes on the wheelchairs and pay a deposit of 298 yuan (about 43 U.S. dollars) before use.

The shared wheelchairs can be used for free for the first two hours and then cost 1 yuan for every 30 minutes. A maximum of 20 yuan will be charged for 24 hours. People with high social credit scores can enjoy deposit-free service.

The hospital distributes the wheelchairs in three designated parking areas, which are the emergency room, pharmacy and inpatient building.