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.

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • German ITS and telematics associations talk merger at Congress
    October 24, 2012
    Board delegations from ITS Germany and ITS Network Germany are at World Congress this week discussing a merger of the two associations. ITS Germany represents singular members of transport telematics companies, while the ITS Network acts as the umbrella organisation of regional and thematic associations. As a visible sign of intentions, ITS Germany and ITS Network share a stand at World Congress in Vienna this week. Both parties have agreed that current developments in European transport, particularly the E
    Read More
  • Technology ‘can challenge car ownership’, Whim’s Hietanen will tell conference
    April 24, 2018
    Technology now provides transport operators and authorities with an opportunity to compete with car ownership in the minds of consumers, Mobility as a Service (MaaS) inventor Sampo Hietanen will tell the forthcoming MaaS Market Conference in Atlanta. “Cities worldwide are facing increasing congestion and pollution, putting additional pressure on their transport systems. Technology now has the potential to change the way people travel and MaaS brings all travel options together in one seamless on-demand
    Read More
  • Uber’s self-driving cars resume trials in Pittsburgh in manual mode
    July 27, 2018
    Uber’s self-driving cars are being manually driven on public roads in Pittsburgh after a fatal crash which prompted the company to pull out of its testing programme in North America. The company is trialling new safeguards which it says will improve vehicle fleet safety and performance. According to a report by Medium, Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber Advanced Technologies, says: “While we are eager to resume testing of our self-driving system, we see manual driving as an important first step in piloting thes
    Read More
  • Countdown to ITS World Congress
    September 28, 2016
    The ITS World Congress 2016, taking place in Melbourne, Australia, 10-14 October, has attracted 7,000+delegates from 60 countries, as well as over 300 exhibitors, providing a showcase for the latest advances and solutions in intelligent transportation systems.
    Read More

Highlighted Content