Cheetah Global has come out with freshly-minted statistics on the state of the bike rental economy in the world. Public bicycles were first started in Europe but have seen their biggest success in the East starting from China’s dockless bike systems ofo and Mobike. According to the global distribution of active users gathered by Cheetah […]
Search results
Mobike, ofo say no to merger despite investor pressures
Despite the rumors and speculation surrounding a possible merger between Mobile and ofo, Mobike co-founder and CEO Davis Wang has made it clear again at TheYearAhead Summit that a “merger is not an option for the company,” local media is reporting. Similarly, ofo founder and CEO Dai Wei also expressed previously that the company would not […]
ofo announces $866 million funding round led by Alibaba amid cash strain rumors
ofo raises $866 million in latest funding round led by Alibaba
Mobike lands in Washington D.C., their first US city
Mobike, a major Chinese bike-rental company, has just placed their first batch of bikes in the capital of the United States as part of its ambitious global expansion plan. Closely following its largest rival ofo’s footprint, Mobike chose Washington D.C. as the first city in America to start running its business, whereas ofo just a month ago […]
Exclusive: Bluegogo VP confirms leaving the company months ago, staff waiting for salary for months
Bluegogo is going bust. Staff from the bicycle rental company broke the news yesterday that the company is dissolving and salary payments will be delayed until February 10, 2018. TechNode’s Chinese sister site has confirmed that the salaries are indeed delayed and that the company is in a poor state (in Chinese). Even more shocking is that […]
Gold bike startup looks for buyer as users demand deposits back
Crowds of people descend on the Coolqi bike hire scheme’s head office in Tongzhou to get their deposits back as Coolqi founder and CEO Gao Weiwei (高唯伟) tells our sister site that the company is not bankrupt, but that he has been removed as CEO (in Chinese). The company’s WeChat payments have been frozen and it is […]
Shanghai just says “No” to more dockless bikes
Shanghai transportation authorities jointly announced on August 18 that no more new bikes should be placed in the city, taking a firmer stand in its moves to crack down on bike rental services, our sister site TechNode Chinese is reporting. “Upon the announcement of this regulation, all bike-rental companies should place a halt on introducing any […]
Didi Bike operation was suspended for one day in Shenzhen
Chinese taxi hailing company Didi’s bike rental service, Didi Bike (青桔单车, meaning green tangerine bike in Chinese), was suspended for one day for not obeying the local law, Chinese media Shenzhen News is reporting. Bike rental companies hugely spread out last year, filling the Chinese streets with rental bikes. In order to manage rental bicycles, […]
Ofo hits Australia while Bluegogo struggling to refund deposits
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 […]
Updated: DiDi will have their own bike rental unit after Bluegogo tie-up
Updated January 9, 2018: This article was updated to include a statement from Didi. Details have been released on the Didi Chuxing and Bluegogo tie-up. According to sources quoted by Pingwest (in Chinese), negotiations between the two mobility firms have been completed but Didi will only take over a part of Bluegogo’s business. Didi plans […]