Seoul City to Add 3,000 More Ddareungi Bikes by Year-End... 1,000 Bikes Already Deployed On Site

Ddarungi Usage Up 38.3% Year-on-Year... 1,000 Units from Scheduled Supply Prioritized for Deployment
Proactive Measures Compared to High Usage Period from June to October

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government will introduce 3,000 new public bicycles, "Ddarungi," and replace 3,000 old bicycles with new ones by the end of the year.

According to Seoul City on the 27th, the number of Ddarungi rentals from January to May this year reached 14.14 million, a 38.3% increase compared to 10.22 million during the same period last year. To minimize inconvenience to citizens in preparation for the high demand season from June to October, the city has already deployed 1,000 of the 3,000 new bicycles on site as of the 17th.

Despite difficulties such as factory shutdowns in China due to the spread of COVID-19, Seoul City actively encouraged bicycle suppliers to secure priority allocation quantities. Apart from the 1,000 bicycles already introduced, the remaining 2,000 new Ddarungi bicycles will be introduced sequentially from September and deployed by the end of the year. The replacement of 3,000 old bicycles will begin in November.

Seoul City has been continuously investing financially to expand the Ddarungi infrastructure in line with the increasing demand and membership. Including the additional 1,000 bicycles deployed this year, the city currently operates 41,500 bicycles, and with the additional 2,000 bicycles to be introduced by the end of the year, the total will expand to 43,500. The number of rental stations was expanded to 2,600 last year, and 250 more stations are planned to be installed by the end of this year.

Baek Ho, Director of Urban Transportation at Seoul City, said, “With 3.5 million citizens as members and the recent rapid increase in usage, Ddarungi has established itself as an indispensable eco-friendly short-distance transportation method. We will do our best to ensure citizens can use Ddarungi safely and comfortably by timely replacing old bicycles to prevent accidents and continuously expanding the fleet.”