oBike

Bike sharing schemes are big business. Chinese firms have had huge success and put thousands of models on the streets, recently raising hundreds of millions of dollars. It's hoped their success can be emulated in other markets.

Look out Cambridge, here comes Ofo – China's 'Uber for bikes' Uber Look out Cambridge, here comes Ofo – China's 'Uber for bikes'


In April, Ofo was the first to bring the dockless model of bike sharing to the UK with the launch of a trial in Cambridge. Then one of its biggest competitors, Mobike, introduced its cycles in Manchester. Now, they're coming to the capital to take on the humble Boris Bike (officially known as the Santander Cycles.

From today, a startup from Singapore is becoming the first 'dockless' bike sharing company to launch its cycles in London. In total 400 oBikes – not related to the similar-sounding Mobike – have been placed in Tower Hamlets.

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"It's super multicultural, there's a lot of cycle highways, so the commute from home to work or meeting to meeting is easy, but we felt there was a lack of bicycles available in the area," Augustin Mallon, a senior UK manager for oBike, tells WIRED.

Like other bike sharing schemes, the system allows riders to find, rent, and pay for bikes through a smartphone app. Each 30-minute ride costs 50p plus a refundable deposit of £49, and the bike is unlocked by scanning a QR code printed on its frame.


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The bikes differ from Santander's offering in that they do not need to be docked at a station. Across London's central travel zones there are 750 docking stations where the 11,500 Boris Bikes can be rented. Once used they must be returned to another station or the user will face fines.

oBike

OBike's cycles can be left anywhere using the built-in lock that's attached to its frame. The convenience of allowing users to leave bikes at their destination has helped bike sharing schemes grow in China. Additionally, oBike's app allows users to 'earn' credits that they can spend on rides. These can be gained by informing the firm about damaged bikes, or those that have been locked-up inappropriately.

"Santander has 11,000 bikes on the streets and we're hoping to add to that by at least 50 per cent," Mallon says. He adds that during July the company will be putting "hundreds of bikes everyday" into the capital's infrastructure and that discussions with councils are still ongoing.


The introduction of bikes to London is the latest move from the growing number of bike sharing firms to capitalise on markets outside of Asia. Mobike is looking to launch its models in the US and oBike already operates in Australia and Europe.

However, things have not been completely smooth for those attempting to make the transition to new markets. Ofo's trial in Cambridge was intending to put 500 of its bikes into circulation at launch but following complaints from residents and councillors this was reduced to 20. Locally, the sharing model raised concerns that bikes will be abandoned and vandalised.

Following the introduction of MoBike's in Manchester, the company said its bikes were "vandal-proof". In the first 10 days of the scheme at least 10 incidents of vandalism were reported to police and videos emerged of people trying to destroy the bikes.