The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    INTERVIEWTati Gabrielle, actress of Korean, African-American descent, feels proud of her heritage

  • 3

    China expresses 'strong dissatisfaction' over US shooting down balloon

  • 5

    Decoding success factors of NewJeans: How is it different?

  • 7

    VIDEOFilipina K-pop idol and K-drama actress react to stereotypes about the Philippines

  • 9

    'Hype Boy' by NewJeans reaches 200 mil. Spotify streams

  • 11

    LG publishes Korea's first group-level net zero report

  • 13

    VideoHow Koreans' favorite convenience store foods are made in factories

  • 15

    More than 2,000 foreign workers to be hired at Korean shipyards this month

  • 17

    US literary agent reflects on personal journey to discover Korea in new book

  • 19

    FSC approves security token transactions in Korea

  • 2

    2-year work experience prerequisite lifted for foreign shipyard welders

  • 4

    Families of Itaewon victims on collision course with Seoul City

  • 6

    US shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon with a single missile

  • 8

    President Yoon at odds with politician who helped him win election

  • 10

    Powerful quake rocks Turkey and Syria, kills more than 1,500

  • 12

    9 fishermen, including 2 Vietnamese, missing in boat incident

  • 14

    Reclusive fashion icon Martin Margiela makes comeback as artist with eerie wonderland of human bodies

  • 16

    BTS fails to win Grammy for 3rd consecutive year

  • 18

    Search under way for 9 missing after fishing boat capsizes

  • 20

    Conflict reignites over relocation of POSCO Holdings to Pohang

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Tue, February 7, 2023 | 11:32
-------------------------
Seoul's public bicycle system unfriendly to foreigners
Posted : 2016-09-20 16:35
Updated : 2016-09-20 18:49
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
A foreign resident in Seoul tries to learn how to use the city's bike-sharing service 'Ttareungi' at a bike station in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. Many foreign users complain about the complicated registration process for the service./ Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
A foreign resident in Seoul tries to learn how to use the city's bike-sharing service "Ttareungi" at a bike station in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. Many foreign users complain about the complicated registration process for the service.
/ Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Buggy registration troubles foreign riders


This is the second in a two-part review on Seoul City's bicycle-sharing system. — ED.


By Choi Ha-young

Public bicycles run in Seoul, but with creaks for foreigners. The system, named "Ttareungi," provides English, Chinese and Japanese services for international users. However, it's not easy for foreign residents and tourists to enjoy this service, because of the complicated registration process.

Buggy website, limited choice

The service is available once people sign up on the website. Foreigners, who are not using a Korean mobile phone service or not fluent in Korean, have to use foreign language services.


"Once I registered my ID and password for the Chinese service, the Japanese website popped up," Li Xinge, 24, university student from China, said. The same problem happened to Mark Zastrow, 30, a science journalist from the U.S. He tried to access the English website but it loaded Chinese version.

"Unfortunately, the English site is very buggy and the payment system is limited," Zastrow said. "The worst thing about the English site is the actual payment process."

One obstacle is the type of credit card required to pay. "I found out that you can't even use a Korean credit or debit card — it has to be an international card," Zastrow said. Only foreign credit cards can be used on international versions of the website. That troubles foreign residents who are not fluent in Korean and don't have an international card.

The website suggests various options for hours of use: seven days, 30 days, 180 days and 365 days with different prices.

Seoul's bike-sharing system gaining popularity
2016-09-19 14:57  |  National

For foreigners, however, the option is closed. "Users can't change the dropdown selection from a seven day option, so there are no 30, 180 or 365 days options. Effectively, English-language users can only buy a one day or a seven day voucher," said Zastrow. The same problem happens with the Chinese website, Li said.

Imperfect translation confuses foreigners as well. "The 50,000 won reads ‘safety' in Chinese but I cannot understand what it means," Li said. Actually, the 50,000 won is a "deposit" for foreigners to prevent loss or robbery.

After signing up, there's one more step: card registration. For Korean service, people can rent the bicycles via the smartphone application without a membership card. However, since there's no foreign language app, foreigners must register a T-money card on the website before using it and tag it on the bike.

Cheap, convenient, always available

Despite this difficulty in registration, foreign users generally showed satisfaction with the system itself.

"I've used it on weekends in several locations, to explore the city. It was very cheap; almost ridiculously convenient, and always available," said Craig Urquhart from Canada, who is using the system pretty easily thanks to his Korean wife.

People were very satisfied with the quality of the bicycles. "We have a similar service in Paris, but Paris's bicycles are very heavy unlike Seoul's," Alban Mannisi from France, 40, said in front of a station near the City Hall. "There are some foreign users around me. It's particularly useful for lunch appointments."

Actually, this is what Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) aims for: short-distance travel for regular users. Zastrow said the service was very useful when he had an errand to run. "The bank may be a 10 minute walk from Hongdae Station, but it was just a couple minutes on the bike."

SMG is aware of the pros and cons of this system.

"At first we installed kiosks at each station for payment," said Lee Jeong-seop, an SMG official in charge of the public bicycle policy. This is what the Paris bicycle sharing system Velib adopted — people can buy tickets at a kiosk with a credit card or a debit card and take the bicycle right away, and there's no separate registration process for foreign tourists.

"However, through the previous way, it would have cost 800 million won ($701,500) to install 440 bicycles at 44 stations. But by using the web-based measure, it was only 2.8 billion won for 2,000 bicycles at 150 stations."

According to this calculation, the city government cut the cost by 20 percent. "It could be inconvenient for one-day users or tourists, but regular users can enjoy the system more comfortably due to many stations," Lee said.



Emailhayoung.choi@ktimes.com Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
Top 10 Stories
1[VIDEO] Filipina K-pop idol and K-drama actress react to stereotypes about the Philippines VIDEOFilipina K-pop idol and K-drama actress react to stereotypes about the Philippines
2[Video] How Koreans' favorite convenience store foods are made in factories VideoHow Koreans' favorite convenience store foods are made in factories
3US literary agent reflects on personal journey to discover Korea in new book US literary agent reflects on personal journey to discover Korea in new book
4[INTERVIEW] Saudi Arabia seeks greater cooperation with Korea in NEOM INTERVIEWSaudi Arabia seeks greater cooperation with Korea in NEOM
5Debate heats up over chemical castration of more sex offenders Debate heats up over chemical castration of more sex offenders
6Why Galaxy Book3 draws more attention than S23 smartphones Why Galaxy Book3 draws more attention than S23 smartphones
7[ANALYSIS] New order prevails in global battery industry ANALYSISNew order prevails in global battery industry
8Opposition party's attempt to enact Korean version of IRA triggers concerns Opposition party's attempt to enact Korean version of IRA triggers concerns
9Dongwon aims to to acquire McDonald's Korea Dongwon aims to to acquire McDonald's Korea
10Book recounts poverty-stricken Korean coal miners' contribution to their country Book recounts poverty-stricken Korean coal miners' contribution to their country
Top 5 Entertainment News
1[INTERVIEW] Tati Gabrielle, actress of Korean, African-American descent, feels proud of her heritage INTERVIEWTati Gabrielle, actress of Korean, African-American descent, feels proud of her heritage
2Decoding success factors of NewJeans: How is it different? Decoding success factors of NewJeans: How is it different?
3Reclusive fashion icon Martin Margiela makes comeback as artist with eerie wonderland of human bodiesReclusive fashion icon Martin Margiela makes comeback as artist with eerie wonderland of human bodies
4The Boyz member Hyunjae apologizes for wearing hat with Rising Sun flag design The Boyz member Hyunjae apologizes for wearing hat with Rising Sun flag design
5SM in internal feud over founder's exit from producing SM in internal feud over founder's exit from producing
DARKROOM
  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

  • World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

    World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group