Ofo is taking over another global city: after conducting a pilot program in Adelaide in South Australia, the company is putting their small yellow bikes in Sydney. Ofo also announced that it will double its fleet in Adelaide.
On the other hand, its Chinese rival Bluegogo seems to be facing difficulties. The company has denied recent rumors that it is trying to solve its cash flows issues by selling its business to Changzhou Youon Public Bicycle System Co. Recent reports also documented a number of complaints from Bluegogo users that have not received refunds for their deposits within deadlines. The bike rental promised a new deadline for refunds: November 10th.
Unlike ofo and Mobike which are currently spreading worldwide, a number of bike rental companies have closed shop in recent months. The last victim is Coolqi, the maker of dazzling golden bikes equipped with phone charging equipment. The market is seeing oversaturation and so are Chinese streets which are crowded with bicycles of every color.
To prevent bikes from piling up and parking in illegal areas in Australia’s cities, ofo plans to use a GPS-enabled geofence which will ensure that bikes are properly maintained, distributed, and parked and that they have helmets—something that’s notably missing from any of China’s bike rental services.