Suwon Ends Operation of Unmanned Bike-Sharing Service After 30 Days

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] The 'station-free unmanned bike-sharing service' introduced by Suwon City in January of last year through private operator management will cease operations as of September 30.

Bike-sharing company 'Mobike' operated business in over 200 cities across 19 countries worldwide, including Suwon, before being acquired by Chinese company Meituan Dianping (China) in April of last year. Following the headquarters' policy to focus on China thereafter, the company began winding down overseas operations. It has decided to withdraw from Suwon City, its only remaining overseas market.

Mobike has been operating 5,000 shared bicycles in Suwon City. As of the end of last month, the number of registered users reached 320,725, with cumulative usage reaching 5,442,096 times. User deposits and remaining balances will be settled and automatically refunded in October.

A Mobike official explained, "The loss rate of shared bicycles in Suwon City was 3%, which is one-tenth of the average loss rate at other overseas operations (30%). We were able to operate smoothly thanks to high civic consciousness, but we have been forced to make the decision to end the business."

The city announced plans to actively attract new bike-sharing operators and restart the bike-sharing service by no later than the first half of 2020.

Additionally, the city plans to actively publicize the news of the bike-sharing business closure through its website and social media, while promoting refund methods for deposits and balances to minimize citizen confusion. For refund inquiries, contact Mobike (080-822-1460, Support.kr@mobike.com).