SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul city’s unmanned bike rental service, dubbed Ttaereungyi in Korean, has surpassed 3.3 million members.
One-third of all Seoulites now ride Ttaereungyi bicycles.
In the seven years since the platform was launched, the bicycles have been used 91.65 million times, with the 100 million ride milestone expected to be surpassed this year, the city said.
Ttaereungyi use has spiked since the outbreak of the coronavirus. The bicycle sharing service’s 19.07 million rides in 2019 jumped to 23.7 million in 2020, up by 24 percent. Last year, the bicycles were used 32.05 million times, up by 35 percent from the previous year.
Last year’s records show that bicycles were used 12 percent more frequently on weekdays than on weekends.
Close to one-third of the weekday use was concentrated on rush hour (8 to 10 a.m., 6 to 8 p.m.), indicating that the bicycles have effectively taken on the supplementary role of connecting the ‘first and last miles’ of commute.
The city plans to introduce an additional 3,000 bicycles this year, operating a total of 43,500 bicycles. The city also plans to set up 250 additional rental stands across the city.
Image Credit: Yonhap / photonews@koreabizwire.com
