Skip to main content

Ofo ‘scales back’ bike sharing operations in US

Chinese bike sharing company Ofo is scaling back its US operations and has laid off employees from multiple departments. The move, according to a report by Quartz, will allow the company to refocus on markets in a bid to become profitable. The start-up plans to continue operating in US cities such as Seattle, San Diego and New York. According to Quartz, the company is also leaving Australia and Israel and reducing operations in the UK. The company operates yellow bicycles which riders can rent thro
July 24, 2018 Read time: 1 min
Chinese bike sharing company Ofo is scaling back its US operations and has laid off employees from multiple departments. The move, according to a report by %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external Quartz false https://qz.com/1331368/bike-sharing-company-ofo-is-dramatically-scaling-back-in-north-america/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Issue:%202018-07-20%20Smart%20Cities%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:16284%5D&amp;utm_term=Smart%20Cities%20Dive false false%>, will allow the company to refocus on markets in a bid to become profitable.


The start-up plans to continue operating in US cities such as Seattle, San Diego and New York.

According to Quartz, the company is also leaving Australia and Israel and reducing operations in the UK.

The company operates yellow bicycles which riders can rent through a mobile app for around £1 per minute or one hour ride, depending on the city.

Ofo was founded in 2014 by students at Beijing’s Peking University and entered the US last year with the intention of offering a transportation option that could cover first- or last-mile trips.

Related Content

  • Australian ITS Summit 2013
    July 3, 2013
    ITS Australia’s 2013 summit is a comprehensive two-day program featuring Australian and international speakers in plenary sessions, themed breakouts and open panel discussions, to be held 18 to 20 September in Sydney. Key topics include systems standards, data collection and analysis, geographic information systems and positioning, charging and collection systems, managed transport for safety and efficiency, and ITS technologies for the National Infrastructure Plan. A technology exhibition and gala Sydney
  • Here Technologies’ platform helps Motion Auto deliver insurance policies
    December 19, 2018
    Here Technologies’ location platform is being used by Motion Auto to deliver user-based insurance policies to its customers. The platform will provide the insurer with information on speed limits and rules of the road as well as measurements of the road surface condition and variable data such as traffic conditions. Daniel Weisman, co-founder of Motion Auto, says Here will help the company understand the behaviour of customers and their relationships to routes, road conditions and traffic. Here’s ma
  • Complete Streets Symposium
    September 25, 2014
    ITS America’s last symposium event of 2014 is the Complete Streets Symposium, to be held in Atlanta, Georgia, on 20 and 21 October, co-hosted by ITS Georgia. The two-day event focuses on how safety, redevelopment, urban freight movement and ITS technologies enhance a complete streets network and the transportation experience as a whole. Keynote speaker is Keith T. Parker, general manager and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's (MARTA), the nation’s ninth large
  • Bollards bounce back with Saedi’s Augustaflex
    March 20, 2018
    Reducing the cost of replacing damaged or demolished traffic signs is the aim of Saedi’s Augustaflex technology, which is on show here. Even relatively minor impacts can damage street traffic signs or bollards to the point where they have to be replaced, at considerable cost to local authorities. And those signs that do not have to be replaced but sustain damage can spoil a streetscape.