Dareungi, Ranked No.1 in Citizen Satisfaction, Faces Flood of Closure Requests for Rental Stations: Why?

Surpassing 3.5 Million Members... 32.05 Million Uses Last Year
Requests for Demolition Due to Negative Impact on Housing Prices and Walking Inconvenience

On June 22, a citizen is using a Ddareungi bike at the Sejongno intersection in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] The usage of Seoul's public bicycle system, Ddareungi, has been increasing every year, but rental stations are frequently being removed due to complaints such as "house prices are falling."

According to Seoul City's data on "Reasons for Ddareungi Rental Station Removal" on the 24th, among the 95 Ddareungi rental stations removed from January last year to September this year, 65 were removed due to "closure request complaints," accounting for 68.4% of the total. Other reasons included "sidewalk occupation due to construction" with 19 cases (20.0%) and "operation impossible" due to issues such as sidewalk width failing to meet installation conditions with 11 cases (11.6%).

Ddareungi has surpassed 3.5 million members and is a representative public bicycle project favored by Seoul citizens, ranking first in satisfaction among shared mobility services last year. The number of Ddareungi rides has continuously increased: 5.03 million in 2017, 10.06 million in 2018, 19.07 million in 2019, 23.7 million in 2020, and 32.05 million in 2021.

However, complaints about Ddareungi rental stations, such as claims that they lower house prices or cause inconvenience to pedestrians, have also been raised. One netizen said that after requesting the installation of a rental station at the district office, they were told, "The rental station that had already been installed was removed due to opposition from nearby apartment residents." He added, "I don't understand the reason at all, as if bicycles are considered a 'transportation means for the common people.'

As the number of Ddareungi rental stations increases, it becomes difficult to install new stations once they are removed. A sidewalk width of at least 3 meters must be secured, tactile paving must not be obstructed, and it must be confirmed that fire hydrants or electrical and communication facilities are not hindered. If the site is private property, consultation with the landowner is also necessary. As of last year, the number of Ddareungi rental stations exceeded 2,600, and locations meeting these conditions have reached their limit.

Meanwhile, as usage increases, the operating deficit of Ddareungi has also grown. According to data on "Annual Ddareungi Deficit Status for the Last 5 Years" submitted by Seoul City to Jeong Woo-taek, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the People Power Party, on the 12th, the operating deficit of Ddareungi was 4.199 billion KRW in 2017, 6.717 billion KRW in 2018, 8.956 billion KRW in 2019, 9.9 billion KRW in 2020, and 10.3 billion KRW in 2021.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.