You better watch where you park your Mobikes from now on. On Wednesday, the company announced that users will be fined for parking bikes in restricted areas, Shine reports.
This latest Mobike parking regulation feature covers seven locations in Shanghai, including areas in Pudong's Lujiazui and around the National Exhibition and Convention Center. Those who break the rules the first time will not be charged but repeat offenders will be fined RMB5 each time they park illegally.
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Those who attempt to park in a prohibited area will receive a warning through the app. However, if offenders dismiss the message, the money will be immediately withdrawn from their deposit. If the user brings the bike back to a permitted parking area within a reasonable amount of time, the fine will be refunded.
This is not the first time Mobike has attempted to curb the city's problem with shared bike parking. In June, the company began restricting users from parking in specified “gray areas” in Shanghai. These areas now include Wujiaochang, sections around the China International Import Expo and a few areas downtown. When Mobike users attempt to park bikes in these gray areas, the app notifies the user. Those who ignore the rule will have points deducted from their Mobike account credit. Users who continuously violate the rules can be banned from using the bikes altogether.
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According to Mobike executive Zhu Qian, the new fining system is being incorporated as a way to deal with the extra costs the company accrues for clearing out illegally parked bikes in the city.
In the past two months, the city has seen a 30 percent decline in illegal parking thanks to the implementation of gray areas.
[Cover image via Kentaro IEMOTO/Flickr]
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