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

  • ParkHere’s smart solution for car park management
    March 20, 2018
    ParkHere is launching a complete software and hardware solution from a single source to administer car park management. The core product, an Intertraffic Innovation Award finalist, is a sensor embedded in the parking area that generates an impulse in the installed energy-harvesting module when a car drives over it. The resulting energy is sufficient to transmit the information via mobile phone network to the server. The data is then analysed and made available to customers via a web app or dashboards. It is
  • Thales and Telstra link up to enable safe airspace for drones
    March 4, 2019
    Thales and Australian mobile network provider Telstra are working together to enable the management of low altitude airspace for autonomous flying taxis, drones and helicopters. The partnership is investigating how 4G and 5G technology and Internet of Things capabilities could enable robust navigation and monitoring of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – more commonly called drones. Chris Jenkins, chief executive of Thales Australia, says the partnership intends to help customers integrate unmanned aircra
  • Esri throws weight behind White House climate change initiative
    March 26, 2014
    In the UK, train services in the south-west remain disrupted after violent winter storms destroyed track; eastern Europe enjoyed an unusually mild winter; in the USA, 2012 saw 300 deaths due to violent weather events and an estimated $110 billion in damage.
  • Registration now open for ITS Europe Congress
    March 16, 2016
    Registration for the ITS European Congress in Glasgow, Scotland on 6-9 June 2016 is officially open! Early bird registration rates are available until 18 April. Over 2,5000 ITS professionals are expected to attend the event which has an extensive programme this year, including the Mayor’s Summit on Wednesday 8 June and a Gala Evening at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on Wednesday 8 June. In addition, there are more than 100 sessions around the five Congress topics, a student programme, technical vis