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.

UTC

Related Content

  • December 6, 2018
    SafeRide joins Genivi Alliance to strengthen C/AV security
    Israel-based cybersecurity firm SafeRide Technologies has joined the Genivi Alliance in a bid to secure connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs) from hacking threats. Genivi is a non-profit alliance focused on delivering open source, in-vehicle infotainment and connected software. Hilik Stein, chief technology officer at SafeRide, says the Vsentry cybersecurity software will be available on the Genivi development platform.
  • November 6, 2018
    Uber seeks to resume AV trials nearly eight months after Arizona fatality
    Uber wants to resume testing its self-driving cars on public roads nearly eight months after one of its autonomous vehicles (AV) killed a pedestrian in Arizona. The ride-hailing company has released a voluntary safety report to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which includes safety enhancements to help prevent crashes and fatalities. Uber says its AVs would include two mission specialists – employees who have completed advanced training courses in self-driving vehicle operations. The
  • December 4, 2018
    Transdev and Mobike to make free floating bikes available across France
    Mobility operator Transdev and bike-share company Mobike will offer ‘free floating’ bicycles to local authorities in France in a partnership to provide residents with a ‘clean’ last-mile solution. Transdev says 70% of local authorities in France consider the development of ‘soft’ transportation modes as a priority in the transition to clean energy. The companies aim to market the Mobike bicycles in more than ten authorities over the next year. Richard Dujardin, general manager of Transdev France, says:
  • April 23, 2013
    Intelligent motorcycle warns rider of hazards
    An instrumented motorcycle is on display at ITS America as part of a joint project with Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the US Motorcycle Foundation. The Honda Goldwing motorcycle has been fitted with smart display which warns the rider of vehicles ahead braking sharply, vehicles in the blind spot, approaching intersections and other hazards.