Pedalro

Pedalro (Korean: 페달로) is a municipal public bicycle-sharing system operated by Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do.[1][2] As of 2020 it had 136 stations[3] in Ansan-si and more than 1,500 public bicycles.[4][5] It allows people to borrow a bicycle from a bicycle rack and return it at another one.[1][2][6][7] It has been promoted as a new short-distance transportation method that aims replace automobiles because bicycles are made available for anybody, anytime, anywhere as conveniently as possible.[2][6] However, as of early 2021 plans to end the service have been announced due to the spread of competing commercial services such as Kakao T bike.[5] Therefore Ansan-si has decided to abolish the Pedalo service by the end of 2021.[2][5][8]

Pedalro Station around Hanyang University ERICA Campus

Etymology
Pedalro Kiosk
The automated system where bicycles renting and returning are made. Information such as the locations of stations or the number of available bicycles is provided through the system.

Pedalro is a compound word of 'pedal',[9] the starting point for transmitting power to the bicycle and 'road (Korean: 길; Chinese: 路)', to traveling by bicycle,[6][10] meaning of stepping the pedals and running on the road.[11]

History

In June 2010, Ansan-si was selected as one of the top 10 bicycle hub cities by Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Pedalo service started on May 16, 2013.[1][5][8][12] During the proceeding four-year project period, October 2010 to May 2013, a total project cost of 8,7 billion won was invested in the project, which including renovation or construction of bicycle roads.[12][13] Ansan-si has subscribed to bicycle insurance every year since 2010, which meant that anyone, including non-residents of Ansan-si who are injured by the accidents from Pedalro uses, could receive insurance benefits.[14][15][16][17][18] The Pedalo rental service, which started with 1,155 units,[1][4][19] continued to grew as much as 2,155 untis in 2016,[6] and the number of its users reached 1.57 million in 2019, three times more than 550,000 at the time of launch, establishing itself as one of the representative transportation methods in the region.[19]

However, significant portion of the budget had to be spent every year for bicycle repairs.[10][19][20] The number of repairs of broken or damaged bicycles increased almost every year with the record cases, 19,000 in 2015, 21,00, in 2016, 26,000 in 2017, and 27,000 in 2018, declined to 22,000 only in 2019 but surging again to 27,000 cases in the first half of 2020.[20] Meanwhile, Ansan Urban Corporation promoted maintenance of the bicycles to revitalize the use of Pedalro. It collected 300 broken bicycles and completed repair work for the period of April to May in 2020.[21]

Ansan-si announced that the Pedalo service would cease in 2021, stating that the bicycle aging caused repair costs to increase unsustainably. Instead, the city will promote commercial services such as the Kakao T Bike, a shared bicycle equipped with GPS, which can be rented or returned anywhere on the street without a need for a bicycle station.[5][8][21]

See also

References
  1. Pak (박), Hyunil (현일) (27 July 2012). "Unmanned public bicycle rental system construction by Ansan City". 정보통신신문 (Information and Communications Newspaper). Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  2. "페달로란?" [What is Pedalro?]. Pedalro. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  3. "페달로 총 정거장 실시간 현황 (Real-time status of the total number of stations)". Pedalro. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  4. "주요 시설물 현황 (Major facilities status)". Pedalro. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  5. 박, 민제 (31 December 2020). "페달로·따릉이 비켜나세요···따릉따릉 잘나가는 카카오T바이크". JoongAng Ilbo. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  6. Lee (이), Jubi (주비) (12 March 2016). "페달로, 이용해 보지 않을래? [Why don't you use Pedalro?]". 한대신문 (Hanyang University Newspaper}. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  7. "대여 방법 (How to rent a bicycle)". Pedalro. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  8. 정, 성욱 (29 December 2020). "전동킥보드 등 이동수단 변화 가속화… 10년만에 지자체 공공자전거 사업 종료". Joongbuilbo. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  9. "페달" [pedal]. National Institute of Korean Language. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  10. 이, 창우 (14 August 2014). "안산시 '페달로' 자전거, 2% 부족하네". OhmyNews. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  11. 류, 중석 (31 May 2013). "[도시人] "타슈, 누비자, 페달로"". 경제정의실천시민연합 (Citizens’Coalition for Economic Justice). Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  12. 전, 추식 (13 September 2013). "안산 무인공공자전거 시스템, 도입 4개월 만에 '페달로' 떴다". Joongbuilbo. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  13. 박, 정웅 (28 June 2012). "안산시, 자전거 거점도시다운 자전거도로 개통". MONEYTODAY. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  14. 김, 상우 (7 March 2015). "2015년 안산시민 자전거보험 가입이제는". TODAY. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  15. 이, 응호 (9 March 2015). "안산시, 안산시민 자전거보험 가입". Sidaeilbo. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  16. 김, 대영 (2 March 2017). "안산시, 2017년 안산시민 자전거 보험 가입". Ilgan Gyeonggi. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  17. 김, 태창 (7 March 2018). "안산시, 2018년 안산시민 자전거보험 가입, 페달로 등 자전거 이용 활성화에 기여할 것으로 기대". Maeil Gyeonngi. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  18. 김, 광호 (10 May 2019). "안산시 시민 자전거보험 수령액 '쏠쏠'". Yonhapnews. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  19. 여, 종승 (12 August 2020). "'페달로' 자전거 '어찌하리요'". Ansan News. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  20. 김, 대현 (4 August 2020). "시민 공공의식과 함께 버려지는 '안산 공유자전거 페달로'". 경인일보 (Gyeonginilbo). Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  21. 김, 성균 (24 June 2020). "안산도시공사, 페달로 이용 활성화 5S 운동". 경기도민일보. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
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