SEOUL, Mar. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean IT giant Kakao Corp. said Wednesday that it has launched a pilot scheme for electric bike-sharing.

Kakao T Bike are available for test-runs in the western port city of Incheon and in Seongnam, south of Seoul, according to Kakao Mobility, the transportation arm the country’s dominant mobile messenger operator, Kakao.

It said the bikes used are made by Samchuly Bicycle and Alton Sports Co.

Users can rent bikes through an app and leave the bike at their final destination, the company said.

The first 15 minutes is priced at 1,000 won (US$0.90) and an additional 500 won for every five minutes, with a refundable security deposit of 10,000 won for first-time users, officials said.

Kakao Mobility said it has provided 400 electric bikes in Incheon and another 600 in Seongnam, and it plans to add more than 3,000 bicycles by the second quarter of the year to achieve a better economy of scale.

(Yonhap)