This article originally appeared on our sister website, Urban Family Shanghai.
By Yuzhou Hu
About a month ago, we reported that Mobike had waived their RMB299 deposit in 100 cities across the country, with Shanghai unfortunately excluded. However, local citizens can now enjoy the benefit, according to The Paper.
On July 5, the shared-bike firm held a press conference in Beijing, announcing that their deposit-free service has extended to the whole country. In addition, they have developed a partnership with delivery service Meituan, so users can now unlock a Mobike with the Meituan app.
Image via Tech in China
“This is the first time an unconditional deposit-free policy has been introduced in the industry,” Li Yucen, vice president of Mobike, told The Paper. “More than 200 million riders across the country can enjoy the benefit.”
As we reported before, the regulation will apply to new and old users alike. New users can download the official app and enjoy the service without any requirement; while existing customers can apply for a refund via their app. The money will be returned within seven days.
Image via Sina
At the press conference, Li also advocated more bike-sharing firms to follow suit and waive the mandatory deposit. Coincidently, ofo, another shared bike firm, recently discontinued their deposit-free policy in June and started charging a deposit fee of RMB199. “This feels like a knockout blow towards ofo. Not sure if ofo will ever get through this,” a netizen comments on The Paper.
That being said, ofo introduced its credit system two weeks ago, which is considered a sign of another deposit-free policy.
[Top image via Sohu]
This article was originally published by our sister magazine Urban Family Shanghai. For more articles like this, visit the Urban Family website, or follow the Urban Family WeChat account (ID: urbanfamilyshanghai).
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