Well, it seems we have a bike sharing system. By the name of 타슈~ which I think implies easy, breezy riding. This program offers cheap, shared bicycles with a few lockup locations around town.
Pricing
The bicycles are free for the first hour, 500 won for each 30-minute segment in the first 3 hours and then the price jumps to 2,000 won per hour for ever 30 minutes after 3 hours. The examples given on the Ta-shu website indicate that for a trip of 100 minutes the charge would be 1,000 won (100-60 free minutes= 40 minutes, which is two 30-minute segments). Likewise, a trip of 200 minutes would cost 4,000 won. This is 200-60 free minutes = 140 minutes. The next two hours are charged at 500 won per 30 minutes, so that’s 500 x 4 =2,000, plus 20 remaining minutes at 2,000 per 30 minutes. 2,000 + 2,000 gives us the 4,000 won total.
Map
The Ta-shu site has a map of bike sharing stations. Placing your mouse over any station indicates how many bikes are available, how many have been rented, and how popular that location is (share of the total renal market).
Renting:
You need a Hankkumi Transit card and must register it online with the City to start using the program. Only prepaid cards work at this time. You can also use your cell phone. Unfortunately, however, this system isn’t recognizing ARC numbers, so as foreigners we’re out of luck for the time being.
1. Find a Kiosk. You must have a registered Hankkumi Transit Card or you can charge it to your phone.
2. Press the "대여" (rent) button.
3. Bikes in green are available for rent.
4. Choose your payment method. Your choices are Hankkumi Transit Card and Cell Phone.
5. If paying by Hankkumi transit card, touch your card to the sensor. Wait for the beep.
5. (con't) If paying by phone, select "phone payment."
First, choose your phone service provider (SK, KT or LG). Enter your phone number and then your Alien Registration Number. Press on the grey "Receive Registration Confirmation Code" (인증번호 받기) button. When the code arrives on your phone, enter it in the bottom box and press OK (확인).
6. Go to the bike you selected.
7. Press the "Rent" button on the bicycle panel (대여). It will make a ting sound.
8. To remove the bike from the stand, wait for the "드르릉" sound. You can then remove it. Push the bike forward to remove it form the stand.
9. Ride safely!
Returning Your Bike
1. Connect your bike the docking station. Back the bike into the station. When you hear the "ting" sound your bike is successfully connected.
2. Check the bike. Push on the handlebars to ensure the connection is not loose. If you cannot remove the bike, it is secure and you are finished.
Locking the bike while away from a station
Coming soon!
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WOW – very cool news coming out of Daejeon. Nothing like that exists in Seoul – yet… Great news.
Out of curiosity, I wonder how they would ensure the bike stays in working order. It may be ‘locked’ in place, but unusable in some other way (missing a seat, warped wheel, bad brakes, etc.)…
I’m not entirely sure but I’m still reading through their website. That’s actually something I’m curious about as well. I’m a huge bike fan, so of course a quiet drivetrain and braking system are important to me. Maybe I’ll be able to get some more information on it soon, or maybe someone else will beat me to it and post a reply!
I just bought a new mountain bike at a dealer near SaveZone who just happend to have about 6 local bikes chained up in front of his store in various stages of disrepair. It was a very sad sight.
However, for those wanting a new bike, now is the time to make some deals as it isn’t the peak season anymore. I priced Black Cat mountain bikes from 400,000 to 550,000 won depending on the style you want. I paid 500,000 for a new Impact FX-D 9-speed with disc brakes and a kickstand. Other than the really hard seat, I am very impressed by it. Maybe with the strengthening won, they might come down even further this winter.
Can you take a bike from one place and then leave it at another? For example, can you ride a bike from City Hall to Jijok Station and then leave the bike at Jijok Station?
If you can borrow/rent one, then yes, you can pick it up at one location and drop it at another. However, the new bike stations haven’t expanded much beyond the city center just yet. This is the test phase before the full-scale roll-out, apparently. See the map link in the article as to where the bike stations are located.