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

  • Silca launches Roof Drip information display
    March 19, 2018
    Silca Traffic Systems Europe is launching its newly-developed portable Roof Drip information display. Designed to help quickly inform and manage traffic and other situations, the mobile information display is installed in a case that can be fitted on the roof of any delivery van or car. According to the company, the biggest benefit is that users always have a safety information display with them to deal with an incident.
  • StreetLight Data reveals longest commutes to work across US
    March 12, 2018
    Commuters in the US state of Maine travel 9.8 miles to work on a daily basis, a 72% longer journey than the 5.7-mile median commute in Wyoming, according to the latest report by StreetLight Data. The transportation analytics company conducted its study on nearly 30,000 ZIP codes in areas with over 1,000 residents as part of a strategy to help encourage businesses and governments to start fixing the accessibility gap. The inquiry also highlighted the longest and shortest commutes in each state by ZIP cod
  • EC Road Safety Awards 2025 finalists announced
    July 25, 2025
    Lanternn by Valerann is among the solutions up for a major European prize
  • Netherlands hosts Automotive Week 2015
    February 6, 2015
    Automotive Week 2015, with its theme of Smart mobility on the road, is to be held in Helmond, the Netherlands from 25 March to 1 April and includes a demonstration of truck platooning with two lorries on the N270, as well as an interactive opening symposium which includes the opening of the country’s new traffic management centre. Other conference highlights include the tenth Automotive Congress on Talking Traffic and the Driven Award which will be presented for the best smart solution for clean and safe