Photo/Shetuwang

July 26 (NBD) -- China's biggest bike-sharing firm Mobike raised charges in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Foshan, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Chengdu and other cities starting Friday, following a test run in Beijing. 

Based on current standards, a one-hour ride now costs 3 yuan in Shanghai and 2.5 yuan in Chengdu, compared with previous 2.5 yuan and 2 yuan, respectively. 

With regard to the reason of the price raise, Mobike said that the decision is made for the firm's healthy and sustainable operations, but the bike-sharing giant added it will launch promotional activities as well as preferential packages after the price markup. 

In a street interview with National Business Daily (NBD), several users said they thought the price hike resulted from Mobike's operational difficulties.

According to the financial report issued by its parent company Meituan-Dianping, Mobike reaped 1.5 billion yuan in revenue last year, but lost 4.55 billion yuan after deducting all costs, which accounted for about half of the parent's total loss. 

In response to Mobike's new decision, some said to NBD they would buy the monthly package, while some held they would switch to other brands like Didi Chuxing's Qingju.

NBD noticed that multiple bike-sharing platforms such as Bluegogo, Qingju and Hellobike have raised prices in many cities since March this year. 

Email: lansuying@nbd.com.cn