Chinese bike-sharing companies increase rental fares

Chinese bike-sharing companies have recently raised their bike rental prices, a key step necessary to support a sustainable business, said industry experts.

Alibaba-backed bike-sharing startup HelloBike has announced that a single trip will cost Beijing riders 1 yuan (15 cents) for 15 minutes, up from the usual 1 yuan for 30 minutes. This means that the firm has nearly doubled its fees.

The move came shortly after Didi Chuxing-backed Bluegogo and Meituan-Dianping's bike-rental arm Mobike announced last month identical price hikes.