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

  • Moovit: Gut feelings no match for data
    August 7, 2019
    Cities that bring in mobility services without data might be missing out on areas where demand is highest. Ben Spencer talks to Moovit’s Alon Shantzer about how the company is helping customers to pinpoint the right locations Launching mobility services without taking into account public transportation data can lead to chaos in cities. That’s the view of Alon Shantzer, vice president international sales at Moovit, the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) provider and transit app. “The data we have can define
  • Be-Mobile displays Flowcheck car data application
    March 21, 2018
    Be-Mobile is using Intertraffic to invite visitors to learn more about its range of innovations including a floating car data application. Called Flowcheck, the product, is designed with the intention of enabling users to uncover bottlenecks in their areas and receive insights into city accessibility, the location of where traffic is cutting through residential areas and where it slows down. Additionally, the company’s connected intelligent transport systems platform aims to provide drivers with
  • Ministry of Transport denies GrabVietnam’s expansion plan
    June 29, 2018
    Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has rejected a proposal from GrabVietnam to extend its ride-hailing service into the country’s southern and central highland provinces. The company is required to cancel its launch in the provinces of Ninh Thuan, Dong Thap and Gia Lai. Additionally, Grab is prohibited from working with taxi drivers without the approval of transport operators and transport departments. According to a report by The Saigon Times, the ministry says the application of technology to make c
  • SICE chooses GMV to implement TVM machines on Chile Metro
    March 13, 2018
    Sociedad Ibérica de Construcciones Eléctricas (SICE) has chosen technology provider GMV to design and manufacture ticket vending machines (TVMs) that will replace the traditional personnel-attended ticket windows at the Santiago de Chile Metro’s line six and the future line three. Since opening late last year, line six is said to carry an average of 100,000 passengers daily and is helping to reduce congestion on other lines of the network. Through the agreement, 80 TVMs will vend and recharge the Chilean