Mobike and Bluegogo have just upped ride rates in Beijing

Photo: Mobike

Beijing's embattled bike-sharing sector is putting pedal to the metal

Mobike has just increased the price of bike rides in Beijing, in what's the latest in a long line of strategies to increase profitability in an increasingly unprofitable industry. Announcing the price hike via its mobile app on Monday, Mobike's decision follows a similar announcement from Bluegogo only a few days prior.

Mobike's announcement regarding price changes on its mobile application.

From April 8 onwards, Beijing riders will now be charged 1RMB per 15-minute trip, and an additional 0.5RMB for every 15-minute increment. In other words, it will now cost you 1RMB for the first 15 minutes, 1.5RMB for the first 30 minutes and 2.5RMB for the first hour. Bluegogo's announcement on March 21 also showed the exact same increase. While that may not seem like much, it is a telling indicator of the bike-share sector's monetary problems.

So far, the price increase only appears to apply to Beijing residents, with no word yet on other cities. Mobike's change in rates also won't affect users who belong to its discount program, which charges flat rates over set periods of time.

The bust of China's bike-sharing bubble perhaps first began with the initial collapse of Bluegogo. Once a major player in the bike sharing circuit, Bluegogo made headline news toward the end of 2017 with reports of debt adding up to millions of US dollars. Despite this, Bluegogo bikes can still be found on the streets of Beijing thanks to a major acquisition deal by Didi Chuxing, China’s leading ride-hailing company, that was carried out early last year.

Not forgetting the prominent yellow Ofo bikes once seen parked on every street in Beijing, this school project turned billion-dollar start-up was also reported to be on the verge of bankruptcy late last year. Soon after news of the crisis hit China, Ofo users have since struggled to get their deposits refunded. Months and over 10 million RMB worth of refunded deposits later, Chinese media outlets continue to report on Ofo’s cash-flow problems and its angry group of 12 million Chinese users still waiting for their deposits to be refunded. Yikes.

If you're still keen to use a Mobike, hit 'Read more' below for our handy guide on how to get started. 

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