TOPIC

Bike-sharing services

Bike-sharing services
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Bike-sharing services. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Shanghai-based Hello has launched a robotaxi. Photo: Handout
Ant Group

Ant Group-backed Hello unveils robotaxi to challenge Baidu in China

The firm plans to deploy 10,000 self-driving taxis in more than 10 cities next year, and expand to 50,000 vehicles globally by 2027.

Britain

Bikes, boats in demand as London’s Tube strike puts brakes on city

Sharing economy

Uber-backed e-scooter start-up Lime enters Japan after Korea exit

Didi Chuxing

Ride-hailing giant Didi apologises for widespread service outage

The disruptions affected some of the app’s 400 million users, as well as drivers across China, including in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The headquarters of Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing in Beijing. Photo: Reuters
Ant Group

China’s bike-sharing survivors raise prices to try and turn a profit

Meituan and Ant-backed Hello the Chinese bike-sharing services that survived years of cutthroat price wars and a spectacular boom-bust cycle, have decided to raise prices to try and turn a profit.

Health in China

A ‘truly addictive’ ride: China rekindles love for cycling in time of Covid

A recent rise in fuel prices, coupled with coronavirus restrictions hindering commutes, plus increased government support, have lifted the popularity of two-wheeled transport in what was once known as the ‘Kingdom of Bicycles’.

videocam
17
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Video | China’s sprawling bike graveyards

Bicycle graveyards a continuing legacy of China’s bike-sharing business bust
00:51
Apps

‘Bad business’: the rise and fall of China’s bike-sharing twin stars

Mobike officially halted operations of the mobile app and WeChat mini programme under its own brand last week, fully merging under its parent company Meituan.

videocam
Sharing economy

Government warns car-pooling services for allowing drivers to profit

Hellobike and Dida Chuxing have made changes to their car-pooling platforms after the Ministry of Transport accused them of offering ride-hailing services, a legally distinct service defined as a commercial activity.

Sharing economy

Taxpayers foot the clean-up bill for China’s bike-sharing bust

An estimated 25 million discarded bicycles have been scrapped, dismantled and recycled, through the entanglement among local governments, bike companies, and recycling factories.

videocam
A bicycle graveyard in Wuhan in 2018. Photo: Wu Guoyong
China society

Abandoned shared bikes crying out for help creep out nearby residents

A video circulating on Weibo shows Ofo bikes asking to be helped up while piled up in an abandoned construction site.

A person wearing a face mask rides an electric scooter with shared bikes parked nearby in Beijing on February 5. Picture: Reuters
Sharing economy

Huawei’s latest sharing economy idea is loaning out budget laptops

Huawei’s Honor is offering shared MagicBook laptops delivered straight to users’ doors during China’s national holiday.

Apps

China’s bike-sharing platforms connect with BeiDou satellite network

After the launch of the final satellite in the BeiDou navigation system, China’s bike-sharing platforms said the global network will help them to manage their fleets more efficiently.

videocam
SenseTime

SenseTime’s AI makes sure you park your shared bike properly

SenseTime’s new AI surveillance system is part of the Chinese government’s push to promote smart city projects

SenseTime’s AI makes sure you park your shared bike properly

Scalpers cash in as China’s e-bike riders rush to buy helmets

Get-rich-quick opportunity arises as new law requires the country’s 300 million e-scooter riders to wear helmets amid massive shortage

videocam
Helmets will become mandatory for e-scooter riders in China from June 1. Photo: EPA
Meituan

China’s Hellobike denies removing rival Meituan’s bikes from a street

Few players remain in China’s highly competitive bike sharing market

Coronavirus pandemic

Meituan Dianping sees surge in bike-sharing, but don’t call it a comeback

Food delivery giant Meituan saw signs of an upswing at its struggling bike-sharing business, as more commuters shifted away from crowded modes of transport amid the coronavirus pandemic.

videocam
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Meituan

The coronavirus is bringing bike sharing back in China

Meituan’s Mobike and Alibaba-backed Hellobike are seeing longer trips, but analysts say the bike-share resurgence might not stick after the outbreak

Hellobike, Qingju Bike and Meituan launched a campaign for their staff to disinfect all shared bikes on the streets daily, no matter the brand. (Picture: Didi)
Ofo

Troubled bike-sharing company Ofo is now a shopping app

The Alibaba-backed company is pivoting to ecommerce and offering rebates in lieu of returning deposit money

China technology

From flip phones to smartphones: Growing up in China’s decade of tech transformation

Living in China through most of the 2010s, I look back at how far we’ve come

Sharing economy

Mobike lost more than 200,000 bikes to theft and vandalism this year

The bike-sharing company quit Manchester last year because of vandalism

Mobike isn't the only victim of bike vandalism. (Picture: Shutterstock)
Start-ups

They founded three hot tech companies, but now they’re on a country-wide blacklist

Founders of Ofo, LeEco and now Smartisan have to navigate China’s punishing debtor blacklist

They founded three hot tech companies, but now they’re on a country-wide blacklist
Apps

Gojek gets green light for Malaysia test runs despite backlash

Critics have accused the Malaysian government of relying on ride-hailing services as a substitute for comprehensive infrastructure planning and raised concerns about the country’s road safety record.

Sharing economy

Hellobike plans to lead China’s two-wheeler transport market as bike-sharing rivals struggle

Shanghai-based Hellobike will offer a range of two-wheeler transport options, including traditional bicycles as well as electric bikes and scooters.

Alibaba mulling further investment in bike-sharing start-up Hellobike

A survivor of the bike-sharing wars in China, Shanghai-based Hellobike continues to raise capital for its business transformation

A sidewalk crowded with bicycles from the bike-sharing companies Ofo, Mobike and Bluegogo, near a bus stand in Beijing, China. Photo: AP
Sharing economy

The story of Ofo is one of the wildest rides in China’s tech history

Ofo was once one of the biggest bike sharing platforms in the world, with a plan to capture 200 cities by 2017. But the end of the bike sharing boom hit Ofo hard.

The story of Ofo is one of the wildest rides in China’s tech history
Myanmar

Disused bicycles from oBike and Ofo help keep Myanmar children in school

Thousands of bicycles that lay in ‘graveyards’ after bike-sharing companies pulled out from Singapore and Malaysia are now being used by impoverished Myanmar children to go to school.

Sharing economy

How to travel in China on a Mobike

Cycling is one of the best ways to explore a new city. Services like Mobike allows you to pick up a bike whenever you see one, and just leave it at any destination. Best of all, the app is available in English! Get around faster Scan the QR code on a bike to get started

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement