The biggest advantage of Ddaleungee is not only its affordability, but also mobility, allowing users to rent and return the bikes at any of the 450 rental stations across the city. (image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – Ddaleungee, Seoul’s public bike-sharing service, is gaining more public interest, and the city’s eco-friendly initiative is gradually bearing fruit.
According to the metropolitan government, the aggregate number of rentals as of last month was 1,129,770 – which means roughly one in ten Seoulites has used the service since it took off in September 2015.
Anyone can take advantage of Ddaleungee by downloading a smartphone application (or simply via website), purchasing a rental coupon and tapping either their pre-registered Ddaleungee card or credit card on the bike’s device at any of the bicycles parked at their station.
The bikes can be rented at a very affordable price of just 1,000 won ($0.88) for 24-hour use (users must check in every hour or extra charges may be incurred).
The service launched with some 11,000 users in its initial month last year, and the number has steadily increased since. It first surpassed the 100,000 mark in June (107,000), and had almost doubled by August (204,000).
The number of registered members also increased from 9,800 in September 2015 to 172,000 last month.
The biggest advantage of Ddaleungee is not only its affordability, but also mobility, allowing users to rent and return the bikes at any of the 450 rental stations across the city. As of October, there are 5,600 Ddaleungee bicycles, a number that the government plans to increase to 20,000 by 2020.
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
