April 25, 2024
Startups
China’s bike-sharing startup Mobike enters Korea
[THE INVESTOR] Mobike, China’s leading bicycle-sharing startup, will begin offering its services in Korea beginning late-November, according to company officials.
Mobike and the Suwon City government signed a memorandum of understanding on Oct. 18 to introduce Mobike’s dockless bike-sharing service.
The company said it decided to partner with Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, after seeing it ramping up efforts to transform into an environmentally friendly city. The city aims to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 40 percent by 2030.
Launched in April 2016, Mobike is world’s first cashless and station-free bike-sharing platform. Its services are provided in 180 cities around the world with 30 million rides daily. Users have so far cycled over 5.6 billion kilometers combined, contributing to reducing CO2 emissions by more than 1.26 million tons, according to the company.
For Korean consumers, fees will cost 500 won (US$0.44) for every 30 minutes. Instead of using docks, users unlock a Mobike off the street using just a smartphone and electronic wallet.
Mobike is backed by China’s tech giant Tencent Technologies and is estimated to be valued at US$3 billion, according to CJ Insight.
By Park Ga-young (gypark@heraldcorp.com)
